Press release -
Step into the Scottish Borders this spring
Thirty-nine reasons to visit the Scottish Borders
A NEW film inspired by John Buchan’s ‘The Thirty-Nine Steps’ has brought to life the stunning countryside and historic attractions of the region that he loved.
From the rugged coastline at St Abb’s Head to the magnificent abbeys at Dryburgh, Melrose, Jedburgh and Kelso, the animation from VisitScotland brings to life the places at the heart of the region, the outstanding natural produce and diverse array of activities on offer for visitors to the Scottish Borders.
Produced in partnership with Scottish Borders Council, the film takes inspiration from Buchan whose family is strongly linked with the area and who wrote fondly of the region.
From the stunning collection of trees and plants nestled in the depths of the Scottish Borders at Dawyck Botanic Garden to the natural beauty of St Mary’s Loch and the magnificent historic houses of Thirlestane Castle and Bowhill House & Country Estate, the film shines the spotlight on the greatest assets and icons of the Scottish Borders, as well as some of the hidden gems.
The region is renowned for its award-winning mountain bike trails at 7stanes Glentress, Innerleithen and Newcastleton as well as its world-famous fishing on the River Tweed. Every summer, communities across the Scottish Borders come together to celebrate their history and unique identity to uphold traditions going back hundreds of years at the Common Riding festivals.
The region’s links to the textiles and fashion and design are also showcased in the film with Lochcarron of Scotland and Hawico Cashmere in Hawick both based in the region. And with its abundance of local food and drink producers, many visitors are attracted to the area to sample regional delights, from locally brewed beers to fruit, meat and cakes and sweets.
The Borders Railway – the 31-mile route from Edinburgh to Tweedbank which was opened by H M The Queen in September 2015 – also tunnels its way through the film, making it easier than ever before to reach the many things to see and do in the Scottish Borders, as well as one of the most scenic rail routes in the country.
Doug Wilson, VisitScotland Regional Director, said: “This unique film builds of the success of VisitScotland’s Spirit of Scotland global campaign and #ScotSpirit social movement which aims to raise the profile and reputation of the region as an outstanding place to visit, and to invest, live and work in.
“This film invites visitors to literally step into the Scottish Borders and discover all that there is on offer. The film is an additional asset for VisitScotland and our partners to promote the region and its many assets to visitors at home and further afield. We hope it will encourage people to share their own experience on our online iKnow community and entice others to discover the magic of the region for themselves.”
Councillor Stuart Bell, Executive Member for Economic Development at Scottish Borders Council, said: “Videos are becoming an increasingly popular and successful method to interact with online audiences, and this engaging film aims to celebrate Buchan’s most famous novel and highlight the wide variety of attractions available for visitors in the Borders.
“Also featured is the Borders Railway, which has already proven to be a hugely popular and easy way of seeing the region either for a day or for longer.”
The film can be embedded on partner websites and shared via the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGzveVbfR6U
A 40 second edit of the film is available to view at VisitScotland’s Digital Media Library at: https://digitalmedia.visitscotland.com/libraryhome.tlx
John Buchan is one of Scotland’s most famous authors, chiefly remembered for the thriller The Thirty Nine Steps published in 1915. His parents grew up in Tweeddale and family holidays were spent at Broughton, near Peebles.
To find out more about the VisitScotland online community and to share your experience and knowledge of the Scottish Borders, visit:
www.visitscotland.com/community
To find out more about the Scottish Borders, visit: www.visitscotland.com/scottishborders
The full list of businesses included in the film are:
Abbotsford House, Melrose
Melrose Abbey,
Dryburgh Abbey
Jedburgh Abbey
Kelso Abbey
Dawyck Botanic Garden, Stobo
Thirlestane Castle, Lauder
Bowhill House & Country Estate, Selkirk
Tweedlove Festival, Peebles
Kailzie Gardens, Cardrona
St Mary’s Loch
St Abb’s Head National Nature Reserve
Hawico Cashemere, Hawick
Lochcarron of Scotland, Hawick
Hergés on the Loch, Tweedbank
Born in the Borders, Jedburgh
Firebrick Basserie, Lauder
Seasons, Gattonside
Cocoa Black, Peebles
Giacopazzi’s Ice Cream, Eyemouth
Gunsgreen House, Eyemouth
River Tweed Fishing
Teviot Game Fare Fishing
Broughton Ales
Traquair Brewery
Tempest Brewing, Tweedbank
7stanes Mountain Biking, Glentress Forest and Newcastleton
Robert Smail’s Printing Works, Innerleithen
Velvet Hall Alpacas, Innerleithen
Lindean Mill Glass, Selkirk
Twist Glass Studio, Selkirk
Scottish Borders Art Glass, Hawick
Topics
- Tourism
Categories
- corporate communications
- scottish borders
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 seven overarching strategies:
- Marketing: we will market Scotland and its outstanding assets to visitors from all parts of the world, including the promotion of Scotland to people living in Scotland to visit different parts of the country
- Events: we will support the national events strategy and its delivery, and sustain, develop and promote Scotland’s international profile as one of the world’s foremost events destinations
- Internationalisation and International Engagement: we will utilise all our platforms to enable Scottish-based tourism businesses to better understand international opportunities and market to a global audience and we will work within One Scotland Partnerships to optimise the potential of Scotland’s Diaspora and our strategic partners at regional, European and global levels
- Customer Experience: we will provide information and inspiration to visitors both locally and globally via their preferred medium of choice
- Quality and Sustainability: we will provide support and advice to businesses, with the goal of improving the quality and sustainability of the tourism sector in Scotland. We will provide quality assurance to visitors through our Quality Schemes
- Inclusive Tourism: we will strive to make tourism in Scotland inclusive and available to all
- Working in Partnership: we will listen to and work with the industry, partners and communities to shape our offering and support
- VisitScotland works together with tourism businesses to make tourism a success for everyone and ensure the industry continues to grow.
- 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.
- The Scottish Government is the Managing Authority for the European Structural Funds 2014-20 Programme. For further information visit www.gov.scot or follow @scotgovESIF
- 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 events in Scotland go to www.conventionscotland.com
- 2017 Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology
- 2017 is the year to delve into the past and discover Scotland’s fascinating stories through a wide-ranging variety of new and existing activity to drive the nation’s tourism and events sector, boosting tourism across Scotland.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology begins on 1 January 2017 and will end on 31 December 2017. It will build on the momentum generated by previous themed years in Scotland including the 2015 Year of Food and Drink, Homecoming Scotland 2014, the Year of Creative and the Year of Natural.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology is a Scottish Government initiative being led by VisitScotland, and supported by a variety of partners including Creative Scotland, Scottish Tourism Alliance, Scottish Enterprise, The National Trust for Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Built Environment Forum Scotland, Heritage Lottery Fund, Museums Galleries Scotland and Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology is supported by £570,000 of Scottish Government funding.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology events fund is managed by EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate.
- For more information visit visitscotland.com/HHA2017 or join the conversation at #HHA2017
