£6m upgrade for Highland tourist attraction with Jacobite heart
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A swell of visitors at Glenfinnan has led to issues for locals
A £6m investment is being made in one of the Highland’s most popular tourist attractions amid a surge in visitors drawn by its central role in the Jacobite story.
Glenfinnan Monument at the head of Loch Shiel - where Prince Charles Edward Stuart rallied 1200 Highlanders and raised the Jacobite standard to signal the start of the 1745 rising - attracted 660,000 visitors last year.
When the existing visitor centre was built in the 1960s, only around 100,000 people made the journey to the historical site embedded in a beautiful natural setting.
The nearby Glenfinnan Viaduct, which attracts thousands of its own visitors given its links to Harry Potter, has also had a knock on effect to numbers at the Glenfinnan Monument, which was created in the early 19th Century to remember the Jacobite fighters who fought and died for their cause.
Now, National Trust for Scotland is moving into the next phase of developing plans to transform its visitor facilities at Glenfinnan with the appointment of Highland-based LDN Architects.
The aim of the project is to create a visitor gateway that offers a better experience to both Glenfinnan visitors while relieving some of the pressure on the local community.
Clea Warner, the National Trust for Scotland’s Regional Director for the Highlands & Islands, said: “After many years working with the Glenfinnan community on visitor management, and after undertaking a consultation exercise with the people who live here and the tourists who come here, we are now moving forward with a project to redevelop our charity’s Glenfinnan visitor facilities.
“This isn’t about attracting more visitors but better serving the visitors we already welcome. Our often-crowded facilities can result in challenging conditions for our visitors, our staff, and our community. We want to change that and become a place that thrives rather than copes and inspires rather than processes its visitors.
“Our charity’s core purpose has always been to care for Scotland’s incredible landscapes and share the stories that make them so special. Glenfinnan Monument was one of the first places we acquired in the 1930s.
“While it remains the same wee historic gem, tourism has evolved a lot here in the last 90 years and we’ve adapted along the way. As the Trust moves toward our centenary in 2031, this major project will ensure we can welcome and connect with future visitors in a more sustainable way.”
Ms Warner said that “minimmising the pressure tourism places on local people” was an “essential part” of the project.
Members of the the Glenfinnan community were part of the selection panel which appointed LDN Architects.
“We’re all looking forward to the difference improved facilities will make to both visiting and living in Glenfinnan,” Ms Warner said.
Stuart MacKellar, partner at Inverness-based LDN Architects, said it was both a “privilege and a responsibility” to deliver proposals that would deliver “real change” for the community while responding to Glenfinnan’s “remarkable landscape and heritage”.
“It is a complex design challenge, but one that we that we feel inspired to tackle,” he added.
An off-site car park is being considered as part o the plans.
Ingrid Henderson, Chair of the Glenfinnan Community Facilities SCIO, said: “This is an important step forward in cohesive efforts to improve the visitor and resident experience in Glenfinnan.
“ We will continue to work closely with the Trust to ensure that their visitor centre redevelopment, and our project to create a park-n-ride and active travel facility, deliver a great step forward for tourists while also reducing the impact popularity has on the daily lives of local people.”
NTS plans to seek planning permission for the development in autumn 2026 and start work on site in 2027.
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