Doors open for public viewing at RBS

Published on Friday 3 September 2010 16:05

The Royal Bank of Scotland is to welcome the public into its usually tightly-guarded premises for the first time as part of a festival giving the public "behind the scenes" tours.

RBS, which has a 44-hectare campus at Gogarburn on the outskirts of Edinburgh, is one of more than 900 venues participating in the Doors Open Days 2010 annual festival, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.

Among the buildings and places appearing on the list for the first time are the Aberdeen Sports Village, a state-of-the-art indoor sports centre which includes an indoor football pitch; the newly-refurbished A-listed Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow which was built in 1834 as offices for the Caledonian Railways; the Beechwood Allotments in Glasgow's West End; and the Rothesay Pavilion and Victorian toilets.

Marion Williams, director of the Cockburn Association, overseeing Doors Open Days in Edinburgh, said that following the eco-warrior protests RBS had changed its format for the day and would be conducting guided tours to avoid creating another security situation.

"Guided tours were not in their original plans for the day. There seems to have been a move to reconsider how the day will go. Perhaps it is a way of making sure protesters are not tempted to return," Ms Williams said.

Protesters from Camp for Climate Action, who claimed RBS was using taxpayers' money to prop up fossil fuel companies, set up camp in a field owned by the bank. There were over 20 arrests with protesters managing to get through security doors culminating in a day of action and a stand-off with riot police.

A spokeswoman for the bank said: "Our Doors Open Day programme is still in the planning stages, we can't say exactly what the day is going to be like."

Tens of thousands of people are expected to visit properties and sites open in various parts of Scotland the next four weekends starting today.

A lighthouse designed by Robert Louis Stevenson's grandfather and a fiddle workshop in Shetland are among the premises offering free tours during September.

John Pelan, director of the Scottish Civic Trust, which is co-ordinating the day with the help of local authorities, civic societies and heritage associations, said: "The Scottish Civic Trust is delighted to be celebrating 20 years of Doors Open Days in Scotland. It is a wonderful opportunity to discover our country's rich built heritage. I would encourage everyone, young and old, residents and visitors, to make the most of this fantastic free event."

Last year's programme comprised almost 1,000 events in all 32 local authority areas of Scotland. With the help of 5,900 volunteers they attracted 260,000 visits, generating an estimated 2.4 million for the economy.

• Full details from.doorsopendays.org.uk

What you could go and see

GEMS open to the public for the first time in Doors Open Days 2010:

WEEKEND 1: 4-5 Sept

Ayrshire - Lochgoin and Fenwick Covenanters' Trust, off the B764, is a working moorland farm where there is a museum room to the Covenanters, and a monument to John Howie, author of The Scots Worthies.

WEEKEND 2: 11-12 Sept FALKIRK - (12 September only) The Callander House Kennels building, built around 1840, is situated in Callander Wood, some distance from the big house so that the noise from barking dogs was not a nuisance. Callander Wood is now cared for by the Forestry Commission Scotland and a series of events, including woodland trails and a kids' craft corner, are scheduled for the Doors Open Days weekend.

WEEKEND 3: 18-19 Sept SHETLAND - The lodberries were used by merchants for trading. Though most are now gone, this A-listed lodberrie in Commercial Street, Lerwick, dating from 1722, is a stunning example of the buildings that once lined the waterfront.

Built around 1722, it is Shetland's most photographed building. Areas visitors can explore include the sail loft, curing shed and store.

WEEKEND 4: 25-26 Sept DUMFRIES - HM Prison Dumfries. (25 September only, tours 12 noon-3pm must be booked, no under-16s).

Built in 1883 to replace old prisons in Dumfries, Kirkcudbright and Stranraer, this castellated working prison was the work of Major-General T B Collinson, the architect and engineer to the Scottish Prisons Department.

The original purpose of the prison was to house male and female remand and convicted prisoners from south-west Scotland. The building, having undergone many alterations and changes of use, still works as prison today, serving an important role in the rehabilitation of convicts.