Edinburgh Castle is Scotland's most-visited tourist attraction and is set to reopen on August 1. Unsplash
Edinburgh Castle is Scotland's most-visited tourist attraction and is set to reopen on August 1. Unsplash
Edinburgh Castle is Scotland's most-visited tourist attraction and is set to reopen on August 1. Unsplash
Edinburgh Castle is Scotland's most-visited tourist attraction and is set to reopen on August 1. Unsplash

Scotland to reopen its most famous castles in August


Hayley Skirka
  • English
  • Arabic

Scotland will reopen many of its historic castles on August 1.

Edinburgh Castle, the country’s most-visited tourist attraction, will be among those welcoming visitors again next month.

After several months of closures, tourism in Scotland restarted on July 15, when hotels, national parks, restaurants and cafes were given the green light to reopen. Historic Environment Scotland is the organisation that looks after the majority of the country’s castles, and it will reopen three of its most famous properties next month.

Edinburgh Castle in the Scottish capital, Urquhart Castle in Inverness and Stirling Castle are all opening on Saturday, August 1.

Stirling Castle has a turbulent history that links important historical Scottish figures. Courtesy Visit Scotland / Kenny Lam
Stirling Castle has a turbulent history that links important historical Scottish figures. Courtesy Visit Scotland / Kenny Lam

Visitors keen to get back to exploring these historic monuments will need to book in advance, as tickets are being released in fortnightly rotations. Reservations can be made on the Historic Environment Scotland website, which the organisation jokes is preferable to booking via carrier pigeon or town crier.

Protecting ourselves might look a little different today to how it did when our castles were built, but it's still just as important

The organisation has also outlined some other rules in place at its ancient sites that are designed to keep visitors safe during the pandemic.

Physical distancing is being implemented and tourists are helpfully reminded to stay “at least as far away from each other as the average length of a fully grown unicorn” – Scotland’s national animal.

There are also cues for visitors to practise good hand hygiene. “Protecting ourselves might look a little different today to how it did when our castles were built, but it’s still just as important,” reads the website.

A "be kind" policy has also been implemented at all of Scotland's historic attractions, with visitors asked to give people space and be patient. "A suit of armour doesn't always mean there's going to be a battle. So let's not get carried away," states the website, referring to the obligatory face coverings sightseers will need to wear in some areas of the castles, as per Scottish Government rules.

Ancient castles and mythical creatures

Urquhart Castle in the Scottish Highlands overlooks Loch Ness. Courtesy Visit Scotland / Kenny Lam
Urquhart Castle in the Scottish Highlands overlooks Loch Ness. Courtesy Visit Scotland / Kenny Lam

Edinburgh Castle is by far one of Scotland’s most recognisable landmarks. Set on top of a volcano – don’t worry, it last erupted 340 million years ago – in the heart of the capital, the fortress welcomed more than 1.7 million visitors last year.

But Urquhart Castle is one of Scotland's most picturesque. Overlooking Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands, the noble ruins are a popular stop-off point for travellers hoping to catch a glimpse of Nessie, Scotland's mythical loch-dwelling monster.

Meanwhile, Stirling Castle is a beacon of Scottish independence with a turbulent history that links William Wallace, Robert the Bruce and Mary Queen of Scots.

Orkney's Skara Brae is among 23 historic locations set to open in August and September. Courtesy Visit Scotland / Kenny Lam
Orkney's Skara Brae is among 23 historic locations set to open in August and September. Courtesy Visit Scotland / Kenny Lam

As Scotland continues to revive its tourism sector, a further 23 historic locations will reopen over the next few months. These include the ancient Skara Brae on the Orkney Islands, which will open in August, and St Andrews Castle and Fort George, scheduled to open in September.

A 14-day quarantine period

Visit Scotland – the country's tourism organisation – released a breathtakingly beautiful video last week highlighting the country's treasures and encouraging people to go and explore, now that movement restrictions have eased. Tourism is one of Scotland's most important industries, but a lack of international visitors because of Covid-19 means the country is more reliant than ever on locals rediscovering what's on their doorstep.

While Scotland has never closed to international visitors, there is a 14-day mandatory quarantine period in place for all arriving passengers.

The country – popular with Britain's Royal Family – is also a favourite with Dubai's royals. In April, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, posted a throwback to his time stalking puffins on a remote Scottish Island.

Scotland has recorded 18,547 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, but at the time of writing, had not recorded any related deaths for nine days in a row.

Scotland has taken a cautious approach to the easing of coronavirus restrictions. The country came out of lockdown two weeks after England, and was the first in the UK to implement mandatory face coverings in public areas.

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Practitioners of mindful eating recommend the following books to get you started:

Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life by Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr Lilian Cheung

How to Eat by Thich Nhat Hanh

The Mindful Diet by Dr Ruth Wolever

Mindful Eating by Dr Jan Bays

How to Raise a Mindful Eaterby Maryann Jacobsen

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2) Visit an RTA centre to change registration only after receiving payment

3) Be aware of people asking to test drive the car alone

4) Try not to close the sale at night

5) Don't be rushed into a sale 

6) Call 901 if you see any suspicious behaviour

INVESTMENT PLEDGES

Cartlow: $13.4m

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imVentures: $100m

Plug and Play: $25m

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Key figures in the life of the fort

Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.

Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.

Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.

Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.

Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.

Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.

Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.

Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.

Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae

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Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh

Based: Cairo, Egypt

Sector: transport

Size: 450 employees

Investment: approximately $80 million

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Company: Bidzi

● Started: 2024

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● Based: Dubai, UAE

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● Funding size: Bootstrapped

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COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMascotte%20Health%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2023%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMiami%2C%20US%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Bora%20Hamamcioglu%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EOnline%20veterinary%20service%20provider%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%241.2%20million%20raised%20in%20seed%20funding%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

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- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns 

- Margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars

- Energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces

- Infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes

- Many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts

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Goalkeepers: Ahmed El Shennawy, Mohamed El Shennawy, Mohamed Abou-Gabal, Mahmoud Abdel Rehem "Genesh"
Defenders: Ahmed Elmohamady, Ahmed Hegazi, Omar Gaber, Ali Gazal, Ayman Ahsraf, Mahmoud Hamdy, Baher Elmohamady, Ahmed Ayman Mansour, Mahmoud Alaa, Ahmed Abou-Elfotouh
Midfielders: Walid Soliman, Abdallah El Said, Mohamed Elneny, Tarek Hamed, Mahmoud “Trezeguet” Hassan, Amr Warda, Nabil Emad
Forwards: Ahmed Ali, Mohamed Salah, Marwan Mohsen, Ahmed "Kouka" Hassan.

 


 

The years Ramadan fell in May

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UAE%20set%20for%20Scotland%20series
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