Scotland’s most treasured place

An online poll to find Scotland’s most treasured place has resulted in an unpredictable winner. Lady Victoria Colliery in Newtongrange, Midlothian, received the most votes in the survey carried out by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland.

Scotland's most treasured place - Lady Victoria Colliery, Newtongrange

Iconic attractions such as Loch Ness, Edinburgh Castle and the Wallace monument were expected to score highly in the poll, but these places were displaced from the top ten by some more unusual sites including Cumbernauld town centre, the Falkirk wheel and the Colliery. The winner beat off competition from nine other sites, including the world famous Skara Brae, Rosslyn Chapel and the Orkney Standing Stones.

There were some unusual choices,” says Lesley Ferguson, head of collections at the commission. “But what came across in the poll was that people were not just choosing beautiful buildings, fine architecture or historic sites but places they had a connection to — treasured places that meant something to them.”

22,000 people voted in the poll and most gave personal reasons for their choice. Those who cast votes for the disused Colliery, now home to the Scottish Mining Museum, said it celebrated Scotland’s mining heritage.

Fergus Waters, the director of the mining museum said, “We are all that is left of an industry that was so vital to Scotland and employed tens of thousands of men. I think it shows there is a desire to acknowledge the cultural impact of that beyond the death of the industry.”