Eilean Donan Castle in Lochalsh will not reopen to the public before August 5, it has warned; it advised the public that the installation of Covid-19 safety measures mean it will not be ready for the Scottish Government's planned easing of coronavirus tourism restrictions on July 15; advance booking will also be essential when doors do open
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
ONE of Lochalsh's most famous landmarks will not be reopening its doors to tourists before August 5 at the earliest, it has warned.
Eilean Donan Castle issues a statement in the last hour in which it advised customers that it won't have full social distancing measures fully in place for the Scottish Government's planned easing of tourism lockdown rules on July 15.
Instead, it has cited a "tentative" date of August 5, with the hope that it will begin welcoming visitors from then.
However, those looking to visit the iconic castle are being advised that they will have to book time slots in advance, as the castle will only be able to operate at roughly 15 per cent of its normal capacity in order to keep people safe.
Visitors will also be refused entry if they do not wear face masks.
Elsewhere, its self-catering Eilean Donan Apartments could reopen from August 1.
A spokesman said: "We have been receiving numerous enquiries about the intended reopening dates for both the castle, and our Eilean Donan Apartments self-catering facility.
"We are strenuously working on the implementation of our new Covid-19 operational procedures, systems and protocols designed to protect the welfare of our staff, our local community and our visitors. Full details of these protocols will be published on our website in the next few weeks.
"Given the complexity and critical importance of this detailed work, we will NOT be reopening on the Scottish Government's indicative date of July 15.
"As things stand today, we are tentatively aiming for a re-opening date for Eilean Donan Castle of Wednesday, August 5, albeit in a very different manner to our normal operations prior to the start of this crisis.
"The social distancing and public health guidelines we all now follow, dictate that we must significantly reduce our visitor numbers to approximately 15 per cent of normal capacity in order to operate safely.
"As such, visitor access to the castle will only be possible by the advance purchase of timed entry slots via a new online ticketing system, which will be located on our website. We hope to launch that new system on July 15 for the advance purchase of admission tickets starting from August 5.
"Please note that the wearing of face masks will be mandatory for entry into the castle and any of our visitor services. More detail regarding anticipated procedures for visitors will be published well in advance of our reopening.
"Eilean Donan Apartments will reopen on August 1, and the online reservations diary is now open and accepting bookings from this date.
"We really look forward to welcoming visitors back to Dornie, and will publish more information on both our website and social media channels as we progress through the next few weeks.
"Please stay safe folks!"
Click here to read more Ross-shire news.
