Everyone loves a bargain, so we are offering cut-price visits to the castle during the January sales – and beyond. From Thursday, 6 January the usual entry price of £9 for adults will be reduced to £7, while concessions will pay £5.50 (rather than £7.20) and children will be £4 instead of £5.40. That means that a family of two adults and two children will save £6.80.
Over the next few months we are making major improvements to our shops, restaurant and ticketing service. However, all the main attractions remain fully open. Visitors will be able to marvel at the Great Hall, enjoy the Chapel Royal with its glorious tapestries, tour the royal kitchens, look round the Regimental Museum of The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and enjoy fantastic views from the ramparts. They will still have the option of a free guided tour of the castle and of the nearby Argyll’s Lodgings. Then there’s our own modest photo exhibition of the Argylls at the castle, and a chance to see weavers at work in the tapestry studio – certainly no shortage of things to see and do.
The changes are pretty exciting, and are all tied up with our £12 million project to return the castle’s royal palace to how it may have looked in the mid 16th century. First off we are extending the main gift shop (which is already closed) and introducing a hi-tech new ticketing system which will be quicker – and allow online purchase. We are also refurbishing the Whisky Shop, which will become the Palace Gift Shop, and the shop on the esplanade which will have more clan-related items and crafts. The Unicorn Café, where caterers benugo have already been transforming the menu, will be refitted and have a radically improved look and feel. All great stuff, and we are doing it at the quietest time of year to minimise the inconvenience. In the meantime we hope that people will take advantage of the chance of a reduced-price visit to one of Scotland’s truly great historic attractions.
Gillian Macdonald, Executive Manager
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