Over 100 a day walk on the wild side as Trust's Wild Space visitor centre celebrates one year milestone
The John Muir Trust Wild Space visitor centre on Pitlochry's main street is set to celebrate a successful first year which has exceeded all expectations.
Over 32,000 people – well over 100 a day on average – have visited the centre since it was opened by top landscape photographer Colin Prior on 22 April 2013.
Colin Prior and Anne Reece open the Wild Space in 2013
The Wild Space is now staging its fifth exhibition in the Alan Reece Gallery. These have included oil, watercolour, photographic and mixed media exhibitions by some of the UK’s top landscape and wildlife photographers and artists.
The centre has also staged a book launch and a series of book readings from some of Scotland’s finest nature writers, and a partnership event with Pitlochry Festival Theatre to promote The Sunlit Summit, the biography of mountaineering legend WH Murray, who was a founding trustee of the John Muir Trust.
In its first year, the Wild Space opened six days a way week (closed on Tuesdays), but it has now moved to seven day opening.
Jane Grimley, Wild Space Visitor Manager said: “When we opened the centre, we were breaking new ground and had no idea what the response would be like.
“Now we can state confidently that the space has been a resounding success. The numbers visiting the centre are 50 per cent more than had been anticipated in the first year, and the trend is upward.
“But it’s not just a question of numbers. Visitors tell us how much they love the atmosphere and appearance of the Wild Space, and the gripping story it tells of Scotland’s wild places. Many tell us that their visit has inspired them to visit some of the more remote parts of the Highlands.
“People stream in from all corners of the world and most leave with just a little bit more understanding of the wild side of Scotland, and its landscape, ecology and wildlife.
“Pitlochry is a busy tourist centre so many of our visitors are casual passers-by. But we also have a lot of anecdotal evidence that significant numbers of people are going out of their way to see for themselves a visitor centre that is fast acquiring a favourable reputation among people interested in the outdoors and nature conservation.”