New toilets plan at historic Doune Castle to help deal with surging Outlander visitors

dailyrecord.co.uk:

New toilets could be created to accommodate the surge in visitors to Doune Castle in recent years.Known by some as ‘the Outlander effect’, in reference to the attraction being used as a filming location for the cult Amazon series, the castle has experienced an increase in popularity.However, now infrastructure is being developed locally in a bid to help the community keep up.Historic Environment Scotland have submitted an application to Stirling Council planners to replace existing temporary toilet facilities to the rear of the castle at Castle Cottage, Castle Road, with new permanent visitor toilet facilities.The plans also include removing a derelict outbuilding and carrying out associated landscaping works.In documents submitted with the application, HES said: “The Castle Keeper’s Cottage marks the second gateway along the entrance road to the grounds on the approach to Doune Castle and is currently used by the Visitor Operations team as a staff facility.“The area of the proposed visitor toilet facilities upgrade sits immediately to the rear of the cottage within the existing enclosure built into a raised embankment where the existing temporary visitor toilet facilities are currently housed.Click here for more news and sport from the Stirling area.“Doune Castle is one of the top visitor attractions in the HES Estate.

Over recent years, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, visitors numbers had increased sharply due to a range of factors including the featuring of Doune Castle in popular film and television series.

Peak visitor numbers were close to 150,000 per year with a concentration in the summer months.“In response to the challenges of this popularity, the site has undergone considerable investment through the Doune