St Andrews Castle re-open to visitors, although small restrictions remain

St Andrews Castle is welcoming visitors again, although some small restrictions remain in place

Inspections have been carried out by site managers from Historic Environment Scotland after full access restrictions were put in place at the site last year as a precaution during essential high level masonry inspections.  

Internal sections of the castle’s North Range and South Range Fore Tower are still restricted due to potential hazards found during recent inspections, which now require monitoring and repair by the organisation's operations teams.

But visitors can once again access the rest of the attraction, with a new Virtual Reality trial also taking place at the site to provide visitors with access to digital content.

St Andrews Castle is the latest in an ongoing series of site re-opening across Scotland this summer, with Burleigh Castle, located near Milnathort in Kinross-shire, scheduled to be inspected later this month.

Stephen Duncan, Director of Marketing and Engagement at Historic Environment Scotland, 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."