St Andrews Castle back open again

One of Scotland’s iconic heritage attractions St Andrews Castle has reopened its doors again to visitors following inspections by Historic Environment Scotland.

Full access restrictions were put in place by HES at the site last year as a precaution during essential high level masonry inspections.

While some minor access restrictions will remain in place, 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 due to of potential hazards found during recent inspections which now require monitoring and repair by HES’s operations teams.

All other areas of the iconic site – which in its 450 year history has played a key role in Scotland’s story, adopting the mantle of everything from bishop’s palace, fortress, and state prison over that time – is 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 colourful history.

St Andrews Castle is the latest in an ongoing series of site reopenings by HES this summer, with Burleigh Castle, the 500-year-old Kinross-shire tower house also due for inspection later this month.

Stephen Duncan, Director of Marketing and Engagement at HES 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 still in place.”