Royal Palace Throws Open It's Doors

Over two and a half thousand visitors flocked to Stirling Castle yesterday to catch the first glimpse of the newly refurbished £12m Royal Palace which opened it door's for the first time. Over 70 performers treated the audience to a parade up the esplanade, led by Mary of Guise on horseback.

Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs Fiona Hyslop dropped by to drink a toast the Scotland's newest tourist attraction.

The fun continues today from 12 noon and tickets may be purchased at the door. Or draw bridge. Or portcullis.

More info here.

Stirling Heads Together for First Time in 200 Years

Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs Fiona Hyslop yesterday unveiled the new gallery at Stirling Castle that will display the original collection of Renaissance sculptures known as the Stirling Heads.

A total of 34 Heads, some a metre across, have survived the centuries since their creation sometime after 1530. Many originally decorated the ceiling of the King’s Inner Hall at the heart of the Royal Palace and there is nothing quite like them anywhere else in the world.

Historic Scotland has 31 of the Heads in its care, and three original Heads from the National Museums of Scotland have now joined them in the new gallery.

Bit of a tricky shoot this one. The gallery is very dark (much darker than it looks in the photograph) with no natural daylight to protect the heads. An exposure of 1/6 of a second was required to capture the ambient light with a spot flash picking out the minister.

Oil Museum Hits The Mark

Museums Galleries Scotland announced today that a museum collection which tells the story of the Scottish shale oil industry has been unveiled as the 37th Recognised Collection of National Significance. The collection can be seen at the Almond Valley Heritage Centre in Livingston which contains over 2,500 objects including the paraffin lamp and oil samples pictured above.

Culture Minister Fiona Hyslop visited the centre to mark the occassion.

Well worth a visit. More info here. And the full story on the BBC here.

Striking the right (Harpsi)Chord

Culture Minister Fiona Hyslop marked the announcement of more than £200,000 of funding for Recognised Collections of National Significance with a visit to University of Edinburgh's Collection of Historic Musical Instruments.

Scotland's Shops

Fiona Hyslop, Minister for Culture, at the launch of “Scotland’s Shops”, a new Historic Scotland book examining the architectural history of shops in Scotland.

The book, written by Dr Lindsay Lennie, and funded through a three year Research fellowship with Historic Scotland, was launched in one of Scotland’s most iconic shops, Jenners Department Store, Princes Street, Edinburgh.

More information here.

Back to School

Thousands of young people across Scotland are to benefit from an extension to a scheme which makes school trips to Scottish heritage sites more accessible.

Trips to the New Lanark World Heritage Site are to be included in the educational travel scheme for the first time, helping schools deliver heritage education through active and outdoor learning - all in the context of Curriculum for Excellence.

School visits to all Historic Scotland properties and three iconic National Trust for Scotland sites (Bannockburn, Culloden and the Robert Burns’ Birthplace Museum) are also covered by the travel scheme, which is funded by the Scottish Government and administered by Historic Scotland. Pictured is Fiona Hyslop MSP.

A Day at the Museum

Museums Galleries Scotland, which represents over 350 museums and galleries, has announced 13 museum and gallery projects awarded a share of £750,000 of capital funding.

Culture Minister Fiona Hyslop MSP and Joanne Orr, Chief Executive of Museums Galleries Scotland were at the St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art in Glasgow to make the announcement. More information here.