Press release -
New tour takes no prisoners
A new audio tour devised by Peterhead Prison Museum is taking no prisoners – but is taking visitors on a journey into the town’s past.
‘Peterhead Prison’ has been created by the team behind the museum, in collaboration with Geotourist, which sponsored the Innovation in Tourism category at this year’s Scottish Thistle Awards National Final, Scottish tourism’s premier awards ceremony.
National tourism body, VisitScotland, hopes the tour will encourage visitors to get out and explore the historical town and understand the stories, businesses and people who work and live in the area.
Nominations and entries are currently being sought for the 2018/19 Scottish Thistle Awards.
Beginning at South Breakwater – looking across the bay to the Breakwater which was built to create the “Harbour of Refuge” – the GPS audio Geotourist trail, featured on the Geotourist app, takes in Peterhead Port and Meethill Tower, before arriving at Peterhead Prison. It is narrated by staff member, Lorraine Murdoch.
The former HM Convict Prison at Peterhead, which sits within the Admiralty Gateway complex, took home the Innovation in Tourism award at the Aberdeen City and Shire Tourism Awards last year and represented the region at the Scottish Thistle Awards National Final held in March.
The four-star attraction offers visitors the “inside story” of the brave personnel that staffed the only convict prison in Scotland from August 1888 to December 2013. People can visit and interact with volunteer guides in period costumes and see the cells and other key components of this renowned complex.
Peterhead Prison Museum may not have won the national prize – losing out to Loch Earn Tourism Information BLiSS Trail – but it is hoping to win over visitors with its historical tour of the town.
Geotourist is delighted to be working in partnership with the five national finalists in its sponsored category from the 2017/18 awards, with tours and trails currently in production in every region in Scotland.
The Peterhead Prison Museum trail features:
- South Breakwater
- Peterhead Port
- Lido Car Park
- Meethill Tower
- Peterhead Prison
Jo Robinson, Regional Director at VisitScotland, said: “Peterhead Prison Museum already offers a fascinating and unique look at the prison’s role in the history of the town. We hope this complementary audio trail will inspire visitors to explore the surrounding area and delve deeper into Peterhead’s past, outside of the prison walls.
“Scotland’s reputation as a quality destination relies on continued investment and innovation, which is celebrated by the Scottish Thistle Awards, and trails such as this will only strengthen our world-class visitor experience.”
Alex Geddes, Operations Manager at Peterhead Prison Museum said, "It has been a great experience working with the team from Geotourist and we’re delighted to be a part of the whole innovative concept. We do all we can to make our visitors experience a memorable one and known this latest addition to our offering will play a significant part in that experience. We are currently developing a far larger model with the Geotourist team, which I hope will support a greater interest in exploring the whole town itself when visitors arrive to see our museum.”
Shaon Talukder, CEO at Geotourist said: “We are really pleased to work with Peterhead Prison Museum and have really enjoyed learning about the story behind the prison. This is great example of a historic venue telling its story beyond the walls of the threshold and giving context within the wider community and region.
“The trail encourages people to see more than just the prison and can also bring people on the rest of the trail to the prison depending on where they start. It is a great visitor experience told by the fabulous team at Peterhead. The world is full of fabulous untold stories that are only known by a few but should be shared by the many and we’re thrilled to be able to work with the team.”
The Scottish Thistle Awards rewards hotels, restaurants, B&Bs, visitor attractions, business and consumer events, and individuals who go that extra mile to provide customers with exceptional service. Last year’s competition saw a record-breaking 750 entries to the competition.
The Scottish Thistle Awards is led by a panel of industry experts from several organisations including VisitScotland, Aberdeen City and Shire Tourism Awards, Highlands & Islands Tourism Awards, the Hospitality Industry Trust Scotland, Scotland Food and Drink, Scottish Tourism Alliance, the Scottish Licensed Trade Association, sportscotland and Wild Scotland.
For more information on the Scottish Thistle Awards or to enter, go to www.scottishthistleawards.co.uk
To view the Peterhead Prison trail go to the Geotourist website https://geotourist.com/tours/1927ordownload the Geotourist app :
App Store - https://itunes.apple.com/ua/app/geotourist/id948290494?mt=8Google Play - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mlsdev.geotourist
ENDS
Topics
- Tourism
Categories
- peterhead
- scottish thistle awards
- corporate communications
Regions
- Scotland
Notes to Editors
- Follow us on twitter: @visitscotnews
- VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourism organisation. Its core purpose is to maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Scotland.
- The organisation’s core objective is to contribute to the Tourism 2020 Strategy ambition of growing tourism revenues by £1 billion by 2020.
- This will be supported by five overarching strategies: Marketing, Events, Quality and Sustainability, Inclusive Tourism, International Engagement.
- The organisation employs 700 people and has offices and VisitScotland Information Centres across Scotland.
- Spending by tourists in Scotland generates around £12 billion of economic activity in the wider Scottish supply chain and contributes around £6 billion to Scottish GDP (in basic prices). This represents about 5% of total Scottish GDP
- For VisitScotland’s press releases go to http://www.visitscotland.org/media_centre.aspx, tourism statistics and frequently asked questions go to http://www.visitscotland.org/
- Where possible, a Gaelic speaker will be made available for broadcast interviews on request (Far an tèid iarraidh, agus far am bheil sin nar comas, bruidhinnidh neach le Gàidhlig aig agallamh)
- For holiday information on Scotland go to www.visitscotland.com
- For information about business tourism in Scotland go to www.conventionscotland.com
2018 Year of Young People
- The Year of Young People 2018 will be the next of the Scottish Government’s series of themed years, following the Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology 2017.
- The Year of Young People (YoYP 2018) will inspire Scotland through its young people aged 8 to 26, celebrating their achievements, valuing their contributions to communities and creating new opportunities for them to shine locally, nationally and globally
- Central to YoYP 2018 will be a celebratory events programme that puts young people at the heart of its development and delivery, creating new and valuable experiences for young Scots and the wider public, with links to the inaugural 2018 European Championships.
- Over 200 young people throughout Scotland are currently being recruited to become YoYP 2018 Ambassadors. Ambassadors will ensure that people and organisations in their communities know about what’s happening and will lead on projects and activities to create events and opportunities to celebrate young people.
- The Year of Young People will have six themes which were developed in co-production with young people themselves:
- oParticipation – looking at how young people can influence public services and decisions which affect their lives
- oEducation – creating a stronger role for young people in shaping their learning
- oHealth and Wellbeing – supporting young people to lead healthier, active lives and have opportunities to learn about and improve their mental health and resilience
- oEquality and Discrimination – broadcasting the value of young Scots, challenging negative perceptions of young people, and supporting young people to take leading roles in challenging discrimination in all its forms.
- oEnterprise and regeneration – celebrating young people’s role in innovation, entrepreneurship and the Scottish economy as well as making Scotland a greener and more pleasant place to live
- oCulture – celebrating young people’s talent and contribution to Scottish culture and arts.
- Further information on what’s happening and how people can get involved can be found on the new website www.yoyp2018.scot or @YOYP2018 on Twitter.
