Newcomers View: Linlithgow as a Tourist Destination
Sheila Ashby - August 2005
When we first visited Scotland, around eight years ago, we planned our stay
to incorporate a three-day visit to the 'must see' City of Edinburgh before
heading off to the tranquillity of the highlands. In England, and probably most
other countries, Scotland is primarily known for 'The City of Edinburgh' and the
'Highlands' and for that reason we based our trip around those two destinations.
We pre-booked our accommodation in the south suburbs of Edinburgh from where
it took 20 minutes to walk to the main tourism sights within the City.
We loved Edinburgh, as most visitors do, but especially enjoyed the fact that
we could amble around most of the historic sites and tourist attractions,
especially the Royal Mile, without being reminded of our every day lives. That
being, living in a town that exactly replicated all other towns: same chain
stores and shopping mails, same retail parks, same office blocks and housing
estates etc.
On reflection, the only unfortunate part of our trip to Edinburgh was
returning to our accommodation in the evenings. Once we had returned, we stayed
in rather than face another twenty-minute walk, or a drive, back into Edinburgh
and we felt we were 'missing out on something'.
In the Highlands, we stayed in a chalet at Roy Bridge, near Spean Bridge. A
non-commercialised base from which we spent 8 days travelling: to destinations
from Inverness to the Isle of Skye. It was the idyllic base, a complete contrast
from our every day lives and we loved it.
Nearly two years ago, due to the impending relocation of my partner's job, we
visited West Lothian and were amazed at how beautiful the area was, especially
the town of Linlithgow with its lovely walks and views, specialist shops, the
canal basin, Loch, palace etc. We were also surprised at how much history there
was relating to Linlithgow as shown within Annet House Museum and the one of the
most informative Tourist Information Centre's that I had visited.
I personally think that Linlithgow is an ideal place for tourists to stay
whilst visiting Scotland. Thinking back to our holiday, we could have made
Linlithgow our base. Not only would we have been staying in a beautiful
environment, we would have had the historic town to explore with its unique
shops, a wonderful selection of restaurants and walks for the evenings. We would
still have visited Edinburgh, and would have had the chance to extend our visits
to Stirling, Glasgow and other towns, villages and historical sites within and
around West Lothian - a these destinations being within a 'half hour' train or
car ride.
Perhaps I am just naive, but I believe that real progress within the 21st
century should be about maintaining and nurturing the few, still relatively
unspoilt, historic and unique towns, not just their heritage sites, for current
and future generations to visit instead of subjecting them to the current trend
of town cloning.
Tourism in Scotland is worth around £4.5 Billion a year with around 85% of
visitors choosing to visit historical sites.
Have Your Say!
If you want to express your own opinions on relevant issues, whether or not
in response to Richard Toleman's article, please send them to the Secretary or
email them to newsletter@lct.org.uk.
We will include them here if we feel that they are relevant.
The opinions expressed here are those of the relevant authors and do not
represent the views of Linlithgow Civic Trust.
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