THE EDINBURGH DUNGEONS ARE GIVING THE GIFT OF RELAXATION THIS MOTHER’S DAY BY LOCKING MUM OUT OF THE ATTRACTIONS
Forget dire supermarket flowers and last-minute grab-and-go chocolates this Mother’s Day, as The Dungeons is treating motherly figures to the gift that many actually want … a day of uninterrupted peace and quiet!
This Sunday 10th March, The Edinburgh and York Dungeons are giving families the opportunity to treat their mothers, caregivers and loved ones to a day of peace and pampering by temporarily banning them from the attraction.
So bid farewell to your mum, loved one or person that generally picks up your mess at every turn as they are officially exiled from the depths of the dungeons, allowing them to bask in the serenity of their own home whilst their families can journey into the gruesome attraction which brings to life the deepest and darkest secrets from the city’s history.
Whilst this may be the ultimate gift for any hard-working family members who deserve some rest and relaxation on this special day, fear not as those organised peasants who have already pre-booked to bring their mum or those who’d still like to step back in time together will be allowed to enter, they’ll just have to pretend to be your ugly sister or plague-ridden granny!
Kathryn Adam, General Manager at The Edinburgh Dungeon, said: “While most people give cards, chocolates or flowers for Mother’s Day, we wanted to go one step further by giving mums and loved ones the gift that they often truly want yet won’t admit – some peace and quiet!
“While our attraction is full to the brim with haunts and exciting tales, we also recognise the importance of taking a break and recharging, especially for those who dedicate themselves tirelessly to caring for their families. So put your feet up and relax while your family enjoys a day of frights and fun.”
For further information and to book a visit to The Edinburgh or York Dungeons, please visit the website here: https://www.thedungeons.com
On behalf of the City of Edinburgh Council, Underbelly announces that tickets for Edinburgh’s Christmas 2021 are now on sale.
– Tickets on sale for selected rides and attractions.
– The much-loved ice rink returns, sponsored by Lidl GB and partnered by Essential Edinburgh.
– East Princes Street will see the return of festive food & drink and the Christmas Market.
– West Princes Street will include Santa Land, featuring the magical Santa’s Grotto and family friendly attractions.
– EH postcodes receive 20% discount.
Edinburgh’s Christmas is back and set tobring festive cheer to the heart of the city.
This year we see the return of the city’s much-loved Christmas ice rink, sponsored by Lidl GB and partnered by Essential Edinburgh, in its new home on George Street. The firm favourite will include a first for Edinburgh’s Christmas, skate up festive food and drink offerings alongside family sessions. Lidl on Ice will open on 19 November.
Once again East Princes Street Gardens hosts one the UK’s favourite Christmas Markets. The fantastic festive market will offer a wide range of European and local food, drink and craftswhich are bound to get you into the Christmas spirit.
The Forth 1 Big Wheel will return, alongside the Star Flyer, all against the backdrop of the iconic Edinburgh Castle.
Edinburgh’s Christmas at East Princes Street Gardens will open on 20 November.
In a first for Edinburgh’s Christmas, those looking to get to the top of the nice list will find the city’s magical Santa’s Grotto in West Princes Street Gardens.
The lower gardens will be transformed into Santa Land featuring family friendly attractions including the Christmas Tree Maze and market stalls, full of festive treats and gifts.
Santa Land will open on 19 November.
Tickets for Ice Skating, Santa’s Grotto, The Forth 1 Big Wheel and Star Flyer are now available to purchase through the Edinburgh’s Christmas website. Those with an EH postcode receive 20% off their tickets.
This year, Edinburgh’s Christmas is going contactless and introducing a new ‘tap and ride’ scheme, rather than purchasing tickets from the traditional box office you will be able to purchase your ticket at each ride.
Further additions to the programme include:
Winter Windowswill return throughout the city, and this year’s theme is “Connections and Kindness”.
This special creative project encourages Edinburgh’s young and budding artists to showcase their talents to residents and visitors outside of the classroom. School pupils are invited to design their own stained-glass window to be displayed in our streets and community hubs.
This year’s theme allows Edinburgh’s school children to reflect on the connections made and kindness that they received and gave during the global pandemic.
The Nativity Scene, which this year moves to St Andrew Square.
The Nativity Carol Concert, organised in conjunction with Edinburgh Churches Together, takes place on 28 November in St Andrew Square.
Following on from the success of the Light Night rainbow installation on the Mound in 2020, Edinburgh’s Christmas is working with Edinburgh based artist Hannah Ayre who will produce a beautiful contemporary art installation, illuminating the Mound with cascading geometric snowflakes.
This installation will sit alongside Edinburgh’s Christmas tree donated by the Hordaland County Council in Norway and will replace the Light Night event.
The Mound installation will be illuminated from 20 November.
The Neighbourhood Market will return in 2021 and offer free listings for local Edinburgh businesses and attractions to showcase their products. In 2020, 207 local Edinburgh businesses showcased their products on the Edinburgh’s Christmas website.
To make sure Edinburgh’s Christmas is an experience as enjoyable as possible to all, Underbelly is pleased to be offering sensory packs to children and adult visitors with additional needs.
These will be available to hire, free of charge, and will contain a fidget toy, earplugs, water bottle, stress reliever and ear defenders. These items are designed to help users relax in situations they might find stressful.
The sensory packs are designed and kindly provided by the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society.
Underbelly is meticulously planning Edinburgh’s Christmas with Covid-19 in mind and is dedicated to creating a safe and fun environment for the 2021 Christmas celebrations.
Working closely with the City of Edinburgh Council and Essential Edinburgh, Underbelly has created an unmissable festive programme, helping to boost domestic tourism and reinvigorating Princes Street and the surrounding areas.
Edinburgh’s Christmas is designed to support economic recovery across the capital, driving footfall to the wider city centre area, bringing some much-needed cheer and happiness to both residents and visitors to Edinburgh.
This year’s festivities will also support Edinburgh’s Social Inclusion charity, the OneCity Trust with donations being taken at point of sale on the Edinburgh’s Christmas website and collection points at bars.
Underbelly Co-Directors, Charlie Wood and Ed Bartlam said: “The Underbelly team has been working tirelessly to create a bespoke Edinburgh’s Christmas programme that not only provides unforgettable memories and experiences, but also makes visitors feel safe and at ease at all times.
“It’s been a very challenging couple of years for everyone but our proposed plans for Christmas are designed to support economic recovery throughout the capital, and to help Edinburgh be together again.”
Roddy Smith, Chief Executive and Director of Essential Edinburgh said: “We’re delighted to be able to partner with Underbelly to restore Edinburgh’s world-renowned festive celebrations for 2021.
“This year’s event has been designed to provide a much-needed boost to local business by supporting footfall throughout the wider city centre, providing more businesses with the chance to reconnect with residents and visitors to our spectacular capital city.
“We are especially pleased to support the fantastic ice rink on George Street which I am sure will be a great hit with everyone.”
Edinburgh’s Lord Provost and President of the OneCity Trust Frank Ross, said: “The festive season is a very special time for our city and our communities and I’m sure this year’s programme will be warmly welcomed by residents and visitors.
“Whilst the safety of everyone remains a priority it will be fantastic to see people coming together again and enjoying Edinburgh’s Christmas this year where there really is something for everyone.
“Festive favourites like the big wheel and the Christmas market will be back and it’s great that the fun is spread out a bit further this year, with Santa Land in West Princes Street Gardens and a magical festive ice rink at the west end of George Street. It promises to be a cracking Christmas party for everyone to enjoy.”
“Partnerships such as this with Underbelly and Edinburgh’s Christmas are crucial to our work. Not only will the return of Edinburgh’s Christmas help bring people back together and promote social inclusion, but the money raised will be a vital lifeline for so many community projects across Edinburgh through our main grant funding programme.”
LISTING INFORMATION
Edinburgh’s Christmas 2021 19 November – 4 January
Facebook: EdinburghsChristmas Instagram: EdinburghsChrsitmas Twitter: EdXmas Website (and to subscribe to the Edinburgh’s Christmas newsletter): www.edinburghschristmas.com
Prices start from £6. EH postcodes receive 20% off
Edinburgh’s Christmas, East Princes Street Gardens 20 November – 4 January
Santa Land, West Princes Street Gardens 19 November – 4 January
Lidl on Ice, George Street 19 November – 4 January
Winter Windows around the city centre 19 November – 4 January
Edinburgh’s Christmas Neighbourhood Market Place 20 November – 4 January
Uswitch.com reveals the best family-friendly eco-attractions in the United Kingdom, ranking each attraction out of 100
The attraction ranking in first place, with 71 points, is GreenWood Family Park based in Gwynedd, Wales
The second-best eco-friendly attraction is Pensthorpe Natural Park in Norfolk, with a score of 64 out of 100
Wildwood Trust in Kent, ranks third with a total score of 53 points out of 100
A quarter (24%)[1] of all analysed reviews praised the attractions’ eco-conscious factors, such as educational information and sustainable ethos[2]
Find out how you and your family could be more eco-friendly by reducing your personal carbon footprint with the Uswitch Carbon Footprint Calculator
The summer holidays can often be overwhelming for parents who don’t know where to take their children for a fun-filled family day out, so Uswitch.com, the comparison and switching service, have analysed the best eco-friendly attractions for parents and children to enjoy.
Uswitch.com experts scraped TripAdvisor reviews for eco-friendly attractions in the UK[3], monitoring keywords and phrases that reflect having a great family visit[4]. Over 34,000 four and five-star reviews were analysed, with six categories to determine a family-friendly eco-friendly attraction – Enjoyability, Family compatibility, Food availability, Affordability, Conservation and eco-friendly components and Cleanliness[5].
Table 1: The UK’s eco-friendly attractions, ranked
Rank
Attraction
Location
Percentage of reviews mentioning keywords and phrases in each category
FinalScore
Enjoyability
Family-friendly
Food availability
Affordability
Eco-friendly components
Cleanliness
1
GreenWood Family Park
Gwynedd
78%
73%
80%
5%
38%
14%
71
2
Pensthorpe Natural Park
Norfolk
64%
53%
79%
4%
56%
8%
64
3
Wildwood Trust
Kent
53%
47%
63%
4%
76%
5%
53
4
The Eden Project
Cornwall
43%
27%
63%
7%
23%
3%
40
5
The Living Rainforest
Berkshire
40%
38%
56%
4%
52%
4%
37
6
Centre for Alternative Technology
Powys
42%
32%
59%
2%
24%
6%
35
7
Markshall Estate
Braintree
42%
27%
64%
4%
20%
6%
35
8
National Botanic Garden of Wales
Carmarthenshire
48%
24%
70%
3%
20%
5%
35
9
The Royal Botanic Gardens
London
38%
18%
56%
4%
21%
3%
20
10
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Edinburgh
26%
11%
43%
1%
15%
2%
6
Source: Uswitch.com
GreenWood Family Park in Gwynedd scored the highest of all the attractions with 71 points out of 100. This is no surprise since the park is home to two spectacular attractions: the world’s first people-powered rollercoaster, and Wales’s longest sled run.
The park’s Enjoyability factor was notable, with three quarters of reviews mentioning how fun (78%) or family-friendly the park is (73%), and even more favoured the quality of food (80%).
Norfolk’s Pensthorpe Natural Park scored 64, awarding itself second place in the eco-attraction rankings.
Four-fifths of reviews (79%) praised the quality of food, while over half (53%) cited the family-friendly nature of the attraction. In line with this, over three-fifths (64%) applauded the park for its fun factor.
The Park gained a mediocre score on affordability, with 4% of reviews showing negativity towards the cost of the attraction.
Table 2: The top-scoring attraction for each category analysed
Category analysed
Top scoring attraction
Location
Percentage of reviews relating to the category
Enjoyability
GreenWood Family Park
Gwynedd
78%
Family-friendly
GreenWood Family Park
Gwynedd
73%
Food availability
GreenWood Family Park
Gwynedd
80%
Affordability
The Eden Project
Cornwall
7%
Eco-friendly components
Wildwood
Kent
76%
Cleanliness
GreenWood Family Park
Gwynedd
14%
Source: Uswitch.com
Wildwood Trust, formerly known as Wildwood Discovery Park and located in south-east England, is ranked as the attraction with the most eco-friendly components, with over three-quarters (76%) of reviews mentioning this factor.
Overall, a quarter of reviews (24%) for all the attractions combined mentioned eco-friendly and conservation efforts made by the sites – and a further quarter (24%) noted the family-friendly elements of the attractions.
Uswitch encourages anyone interested in how eco-friendly their household is to find out their personal carbon footprint and read tips on how to lower it using the Uswitch Carbon Footprint Calculator.
Sarah Broomfield, energy expert at Uswitch.com comments: “The relatively high numbers of reviews regarding how eco-friendly the attractions are show that visitors are mindful of where they like to spend the day with their families.
“It is great to see that a majority of these eco-friendly attractions live up to their status and are excelling in customer satisfaction.
“It is unfortunate, however, that eco-friendliness seems to come at a cost; affordability is low-ranking for these attractions, which is not ideal for those with large families or low incomes.”
Find out how you could save nearly £1,000 a year with Uswitch here.
New figures show visitor numbers slumped 34 million in 2020, a fall of 63.2%
Continued restrictions mean many attractions cannot reopen fully, a survey reveals
Staycationers urged to support Scotland’s visitor attractions this summer
New figures have revealed the full impact of the COVID-19 crisis on Scotland’s visitor attractions.
Overall visitor numbers slumped by almost 34 million in 2020, a fall of 63.2%, with 153 sites closed for the full 12 months, according to data from the Moffat Centre for Travel and Tourism at Glasgow Caledonian University.
Edinburgh Castle – Scotland’s busiest paid-for attraction in 2019 – saw visitor numbers drop by 87.2% with figures for Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, in Glasgow, and the National Museum of Scotland falling 85.8% and 79.9% respectively.
Data from the Moffat Centre’s Scottish Visitor Attraction Monitor 2020 shows attractions with large outdoor areas outperformed museums/art galleries and castles.
Edinburgh Zoo was Scotland’s busiest paid-for site last year, attracting 292,631 visitors, a drop of 46.4% on the previous 12 months. Culloden Visitor Centre attracted 182,496 visitors as it recorded battlefield-only visits for the first time and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh was the most popular free site with 452,479 visits.
The Scottish Visitor Attraction Monitor shows the overall number of visits dropped from 53,722,691 in 2019 to 19,785,282, across 638 sites.
Professor John Lennon, Director of the Moffat Centre at GCU, said: “The impact of COVID-19 was felt across all aspects of the Scottish visitor attractions sector as travel was restricted, the international market collapsed and the wider economy was impacted.
“Attractions are an essential element of the Scottish visitor experience. With international tourism unlikely to return until well into 2022, domestic visitors will provide the sole source of income. Their custom will be vital going forward.”
Two-thirds of attractions reopening last week expect to operate with either reduced hours, some facilities closed, or at weekends-only, to keep costs down, according to a survey of operators, carried out by the Moffat Centre in partnership with The Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions (ASVA).
The survey, conducted in April, revealed that one in eight sites will remain closed for all of 2021 without a further easing of coronavirus restrictions.
Industry leaders are now warning many smaller attractions are at risk of closing for good without ongoing financial support from the UK and Scottish Governments.
Gordon Morrison, ASVA Chief Executive, said: “Whilst the majority of attractions are reopening from this week onward, it’s extremely concerning that so many sites feel it’s not viable for them to open fully, or even at all this year, due to continuing restrictions.
“Our last survey in March revealed the continuation of 2m physical distancing means 54% of attractions are either forced to remain closed or will lose money when they do reopen. Those findings, combined with our April survey, highlight just how vulnerable the attractions sector is and how incredibly challenging its economic recovery will be.
“Now more than ever, this important sector of our country’s £11bn tourism industry not only needs continued government support to survive and thrive but also needs the public to get behind it.
“Visitors can expect the warmest of welcomes and be assured that the highest standards of safety protocols – praised by the Scottish Government as exemplary – have been put in place across the sector for their benefit.
“And with sites predicted to be at least 30% less busy this year due to the fact that there will be significantly fewer international visitors, those from Scotland and the rest of the UK can take advantage of a rare opportunity to experience our world-class attractions and all that they offer in a uniquely enjoyable, memorable way.”
TOP 10 PAID ADMISSION ATTRACTIONS
Attraction
2020
2019
% 20/19 17/16
Edinburgh Zoo
292,631
545,562
-46.4%
Edinburgh Castle
276,950
2,167,366
-87.2%
Culloden Visitor Centre
182,496
209,011
-12.7%
Edinburgh Bus Tours
163,429
614,928
-73.4%
Glenfinnan Monument
162,536
462,235
-64.8%
Culzean Castle and Country Park
128,328
333,965
-61.6%
Crathes Castle
103,209
153,217
-32.6%
Robert Burns Birthplace Museum
88,976
261,283
-65.9%
Stirling Castle
79,000
609,698
-87.0%
The Royal Yacht Britannia
67,734
357,271
-81.0%
TOP 10 FREE ADMISSION ATTRACTIONS
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
452,479
991,479
-54.4%
National Museum of Scotland
445,217
2,210,114
-79.9%
Greyfriars Kirkyard
322,317
1,273,113
-74.7%
Scottish National Gallery
304,560
1,583,231
-80.8%
Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum
259,978
1,832,097
-85.8%
Riverside Museum
246,933
1,364,739
-81.9%
Gretna Green Famous Blacksmiths Shop
159,304
772,448
-79.4%
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
148,204
508,090
-70.8%
National War Museum
124,327
805,934
-84.6%
Gallery of Modern Art
96,391
576,689
-83.3
*Top 10 Free Admission attractions table does not include Country Park Attractions
Note: The vast majority of attractions closed down between the 13th and 23rd of March 2020 due to the shutdown caused by Coronavirus (COVID-19).
From the w/c 29th June 2020 visitor attractions such as Gardens and Wildlife/Animal were permitted to reopen, however, it should be noted that many did not open until the 1st of July 2020 (or later).
The W/C 15 July 2020 saw a further relaxing of the coronavirus measures, which permitted more visitors attractions, including most indoor attractions, to reopen.
The introduction of the Scottish Government Strategic Framework in October presented more challenges
Extended season for Scotland’s special attractions
Some of the best-loved historic attractions in Edinburgh and the Lothians will be keeping their doors open for longer this year as Historic Environment Scotland (HES) announced extended seasonal opening at sites across the region.Continue reading Historic sites to stay open longer
