A hugely popular visitor attraction, St Andrews Castle in Fife, has reopened its doors again to visitors. The iconic site was closed last year by Historic Environment Scotland (HES) as a precaution during essential high level masonry inspections.
The charity confirmed there will be some minor access restrictions still in place, but that visitors can once again access the historical attraction with only internal sections of the castle’s North Range and South Range Fore Tower still restricted.
Both will remain off limits due to potential hazards found during recent inspections which now require monitoring and repair by HES’s operations teams. They added that all other areas of the iconic site are now open again for the public to enjoy.
A new Virtual Reality (VR) trial is also taking place at the site, providing visitors with access to digital content that brings alive different aspects of the castle’s rich and colourful history.
Dating back to the 1200s, the site has played an important part in not only the history of the area but also the religious wars that took place in Scotland. The official residence of Scotland’s leading bishop (and later archbishop) throughout the Middle Ages. In its time, it's served as everything from a bishop’s palace to a fortress and even a state prison.
St Andrews Castle is the latest in an ongoing series of site reopening by HES this summer, with Burleigh Castle, the 500-year-old Kinross-shire tower house also due for inspection later this month.
Director of marketing and engagement at HES, Stephen Duncan, said: “We are committed to reopening as many of our sites as possible, as we work through our programme of high-level masonry inspections, which are progressing well. Our teams intend to work through the winter months as far as possible to expedite the reopening of our much-loved heritage sites.
"Both St Andrews and Burleigh Castles are popular landmarks, and we're looking forward to welcoming visitors back initially to St Andrews Castle and then to both properties once Burleigh joins it, with only minor restrictions in place."
Tickets for St Andrews Castle are available now. To book and for more information on current and further HES sites reopening visit the History Awaits page.
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