Stirling Castle beats Tower of London to become UK’s favourite heritage site

Published on 30/08/2012 15:52

Stirling Castle has beaten the Tower of London and the Houses of Parliament to be rated the UK’s favourite heritage attraction by consumer group Which?

The castle, once home to Mary, Queen of Scots, came top in the survey for customer service, value for money and the quality of information provided to visitors.

Highlights include a set of replicas of the Stirling Heads - 16th century carved images depicting royalty and figures from the Bible and mythology.

The castle - run by Historic Scotland - is also home to James V’s Palace, said to be one of Britain’s best-preserved renaissance buildings.

Stephen Duncan, tourism director at Historic Scotland, said: “Stirling Castle was home to the Stewart kings and queens, arguably the most famous dynasty in Scottish history.

“It’s fantastic to see the response by visitors who have visited the castle in their hundreds of thousands since the reopening of the palace, and to be recognised as the UK’s favourite heritage attraction is a huge honour and testament to the hard work of all the team.”

Which? members were asked to score the UK tourist attractions they had visited in the past two year for overall satisfaction and likelihood to recommend.

They were rated across several categories including value for money.

The survey is published in the September issue of Which? Travel magazine.