WATCH: Duff House part of Historic Sundays initiative celebrating Scotland’s heritage
Duff House is part of the Historic Sundays initiative by Historic Environment Scotland (HES) showcasing the country’s rich heritage environment.
A new campaign highlights the broad-spectrum heritage covers – from high streets and industrial landmarks to visitor attractions and cultural venues.
It showcases the diversity seen from the physical environments to intangible cultural heritage across the country.
A video has been released to let people see what Scotland has to offer.
To provide further opportunities to engage with heritage, HES, which is Scotland’s largest operator of visitor attractions, is offering free admission by pre-booking online to its Historic Scotland winter ticketed sites the first Sunday of the month between now and March 2024, which includes Banff's Duff House.
Alex Paterson, chief executive of Historic Environment Scotland, said: “Scotland would be a very different place without the language, culture, buildings and artefacts that have helped shape it.
"The campaign that we’ve launched shows that heritage is everywhere; it's a living part of our world, that we come into contact with every day, and brings with it a number of benefits.
“Eighty-six per cent of people report a wellbeing benefit from engaging with heritage and the historic environment has a clear part in making a responsible contribution to the Scottish economy.
"Playing a vital role as we build a wellbeing economy, we need to recognise that our heritage matters.
“World-renowned for its historic places, archaeological sites and ancient landscapes, the campaign helps us stop and appreciate the heritage that surrounds us, even in the unusual and less likely places.
"From the bridges we travel across to the culture and arts that have helped shaped our communities – they all form our historic environment.”
Scotland’s historic environment was worth £4.6 billion to the economy pre-pandemic, welcoming more than 18 million visitors, and supports a number of areas from the reuse of historic buildings to contributing to Scotland’s net zero targets.
Scotland has more than 58,000 designations covering both cultural and natural heritage. HES lists structures of special architectural or historic interest and looks after more than 300 properties in care.
Investing in communities through grant funding, more than £12 million is awarded by HES per annum for projects ranging from high street and streetscape projects, supporting skills and retrofit projects.
To learn more about the historic environment that shapes the places and communities people live in, or to join in the conversation about why #HeritageMatters, speak to HES online at @histenvscot, or visit the website.
For further information on the Historic Sundays campaign visit historicsundays.scot with pre-booking essential.
