Fossils fill in clues as Scots museum becomes most popular UK attraction

THE National Museum of Scotland has become the most popular UK attraction outside London after attracting 1.49 million visitors last year – despite only fully reopening in July after its £46m revamp.

Days after being honoured at the “Oscars” of British architecture, the UK Civic Trust Awards, the Edinburgh museum claimed 12th place in the league table of attractions, ahead of the likes of Tate Britain, Stonehenge and London Zoo.

New and improved attractions which have benefited from tens of millions of pounds of extra investment in recent years have been credited with boosting the tourism industry in Scotland throughout last year.

The nation’s flagship museum, which attracted 1.49m visitors through its doors in 2011, also leapfrogged Scotland’s traditional frontrunner, Edinburgh Castle, despite the latter’s figures being up 8 per cent, to 1.3m.

The third most popular attraction was Glasgow’s new Riverside transport museum, which was unveiled only in June but still managed to bring in 1.06m visitors.

In a bumper year for Scotland’s attractions, both Historic Scotland and the National Trust for Scotland reported increases in visitor numbers, by 6 per cent and 9 per cent respectively.

Outdoor attractions such as the Falkirk Wheel, Edinburgh Zoo and Inverewe Gardens, in Wester Ross, suffered drops in visitors last year as the peak summer months were dogged by bad weather. But the Royal Botanic Garden, in Edinburgh, which opened a major new visitor centre at the end of 2009, reported an increase of 11.8 per cent, while Glasgow’s Museum of Modern Art was up 24 per cent.

Dr Gordon Rintoul, director of National Museums Scotland, said further developments, including new gallery spaces, and major exhibitions, were already being planned to build on the success of last year’s relaunch of the old Royal Museum.

He added: “These results are testimony to our achievement in creating a truly world-class visitor attraction, which brings and will continue to bring huge benefits to the country’s tourism economy.”

George Redmond, chairman of Glasgow Life, which runs the city’s museums and galleries, said: “The Riverside has proven to be a spectacular success, with more than 1.2 million visitors now having come through the doors since we opened last June.

“Glasgow’s museums recorded almost 3.4 million visits across our estate in 2011, up by 36 per cent, making our civic collection the best performing in the UK.”

Historic Scotland’s overall total of 3.33m visitors was boosted by the impact of the unveiling of the new-look palace apartments at Stirling Castle in the summer, after a £12 million restoration project. Urquhart Castle, on the banks of Loch Ness, lured in more than 300,000 visitors for the first time.

Culture secretary Fiona Hyslop said the visitor numbers notched up by Historic Scotland’s sites reinforced the role of the built heritage in making the country a “must-see destination”.

The National Trust for Scotland credited the “huge success” of its new Robert Burns Birthplace Museum, in Alloway, which attracted 444,947 visitors, for boosting its overall audience to 1.57m from 1.44m in 2010.

• A collection of fossils which rewrite a key chapter in the history of the evolution of life goes on display at the National Museum of Scotland today.

Evolution’s Missing Chapter will be on display until the end of April and features objects from a find in the Scottish Borders hailed by Sir David Attenborough as “wonderful and exciting”.