National Trust For Scotland Closes D&G Gated Properties

Closure of Threave Garden & Estate in Castle Douglas, Broughton House & Garden in Kirkcudbright, and Thomas Carlyle’s Birthplace in Ecclefechan

A Spokesperson for NTS Stated “Following national advice concerning social distancing and mass events and gatherings, we’ve taken the difficult decision to close all our gated properties (historic buildings, visitor centres, visitor facilities, cafés, shops and toilets) and suspend all events across Scotland with effect from Friday 20 March 2020. Our priority, first and foremost, is the wellbeing of our visitors, volunteers and staff. We regret the disappointment this will cause, particularly given the popularity of our Mother’s Day events and Cadbury Easter Egg Trails. However, public safety must come first.

We have been working hard all winter to get our properties across Dumfries & Galloway ready for reopening this coming weekend, 20-22 March, with exciting new visitor experiences and improvements across our portfolio including new paths, garden developments, exhibitions and guided walks. Indeed, we were so looking forward to welcoming everyone this weekend with free admission for all. In Dumfries & Galloway, Threave Garden & Estate, Broughton House & Garden, and Thomas Carlyle’s Birthplace are closed to the public until further notice.”

The Trust’s Chief Executive, Simon Skinner, said:

‘We know that this will be a big let-down for the many people who were looking forward to celebrating the arrival of spring at our properties after a long, hard winter. ‘But we’re determined to make sure our members and visitors stay safe and well, and that’s why we felt we had no choice but to keep gated properties closed and cease all events for the time being. Cancelling events is a positive move to minimise the chances of large numbers of people being present at our properties at any one time, as per the guidance issued by the Scottish Government. ‘The flipside of that is that we’re keeping many of our parklands, gardens and beautiful landscapes open to offer a green, clean and fresh respite from all the troubles we’re seeing at the moment. My message is that, with your continued support, the Trust will still be here after this outbreak abates, and together we will ensure our national heritage will continue to offer you fabulous and inspirational places to visit and enjoy.”

Sam Gallacher, Operations Manager for the National Trust for Scotland in Dumfries & Galloway said,

“This is clearly an exceptionally difficult situation. After a winter of non-stop rain and storms, we now have a serious public health emergency. Our priority is the health and safety of our visitors, volunteers and staff. Our properties in Dumfries & Galloway have been going from strength to strength in recent years, welcoming more visitors than ever before in 2019, and we are confident that when we are able to reopen we are going to have a great season, and should the situation allow, we’re still really looking forward to our big event for 2020, Threave Gardening Show on 12-14 June. In the meantime, our properties are closed, but this isn’t all bad, as long as it is safe to do so, we will use this extra time to help us tackle some important maintenance jobs following from this year’s spate of storms, as well as working more on cataloguing and researching our collections.”

While our built heritage properties remain closed, the National Trust for Scotland’s natural heritage properties at Rockcliffe, Venniehill in Gatehouse of Fleet and Threave Nature Reserve in Castle Douglas remain open to the public. James Hutchinson, Visitor Services Supervisor for Countryside Access & Education in Dumfries & Galloway said,

“We have some wonderful natural heritage properties in Dumfries & Galloway. Our famous ospreys will soon be returning to Threave Nature Reserve, where we are hoping to host two breeding pairs for the first time following the construction of a new nest. Rockcliffe is a real hidden gem, with beautiful coastal walks with stunning viewpoints from the Mote of Mark and Muckle Hill. Please remember to wash your hands before and after your visit and keep a safe distance from other visitors at this time.”

The National Trust for Scotland is so grateful for the incredible support we receive from local volunteers, supporters, and our communities in Dumfries & Galloway. There will be difficult times ahead, but we will continue in whichever way we can to protect Scotland’s precious places in Dumfries & Galloway.

Ian McLelland, General Manager for South & West Region said,

“This danger will pass in due course and we are already looking to the future. If you are a member, your support is vital and we’d be very grateful if your support continues as this will help our charity through this disruptive period and allow us to keep on conserving our buildings, protecting our wildlife, cleaning our coastlines and looking after our landscapes, even in these most difficult of circumstances. We’ll be reviewing our decision to keep our gated properties closed on a continuous basis, with the aim of opening our properties again as soon as it is safe and appropriate to do so.”