16 Apr 2024

A view to remember: introducing Dedicate a View

A view of Culzean Castle seen from the shore below at low tide. Rocks and rock pools are in the foreground, with the castle on the edge of a cliff behind.

There’s a new way to celebrate and remember your loved ones while protecting Scotland’s wild landscapes and historic buildings.

We all have places that have a special space in our heart: places where we have spent quality time and where precious memories have been made with the people we love. And when we lose a loved one, these places can become even more meaningful. They might become somewhere we go, or think of, to revisit happy times and remember our loved ones.

That’s why we’ve created Dedicate a View – because we know how much our places mean to people. Dedicate a View is a meaningful way of doing something amazing in memory of your loved ones while helping to protect Scotland’s most treasured places for generations to come. You can celebrate their life and passions by dedicating a view in their memory.

As the custodian of so much of our nation’s treasured heritage, the National Trust for Scotland is a charity that cares for the places that make Scotland so special. By dedicating a view in memory of your loved one, you will make them a custodian too. For every dedication made, you will receive a pack including information about the place you have chosen to support and the impact your donation will make, as well as a certificate of custodianship in your loved one’s name. And when you donate more than £100, you will also receive a limited-edition print of the place you have supported – so that you can have a little piece of their special place at home.

We have chosen six places to initially support through Dedicate a View: Crathes Castle, Garden & Estate; Culzean Castle & Country Park; Glencoe NNR; Inverewe; St Kilda World Heritage Site; and Threave Garden & Nature Reserve. They represent all that makes Scotland so special and are places that have played important roles in the lives of Scots, old and young. Your support means that more people can continue to make memories in these special places, and we are so grateful for every dedication and donation to our charity.

Check out each of the six views and find out more about what makes these six places so special below.

Dedicate a view

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Crathes Castle, Garden & Estate

Looking down a long, narrow gravel path in Crathes Castle garden, towards the castle. The borders either side of the path are filled with pink, blue and purple lupins and other meadow flowers.

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“People have congregated at Crathes for millennia, and still do. There’s something magical about Crathes – an intangible quality you can’t quite put your finger on – that draws people in, and they come back here to visit us again and again.

Each season, each month, each week, brings its own reward. There’s the delightful ‘pocket handkerchief’ tree, that only blooms for two weeks in the summer; then the golden drama of autumn with the occasional dart of a red squirrel running along the wall; and in winter, it’s a time of deep silence when the plants and trees shimmer with a dusting of snow.

You can spend hours here and always experience something new. I love it and I know so many others do too.”

James Henderson

Operations Manager for Aberdeenshire South

Culzean Castle & Country Park

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“The image that we’ve chosen was taken in summer with the trees in full leaf and the castle reflected in the waters below. But the view changes every day, and every season, with the movement of the sun.

When there are no leaves on the trees, you get that cold and frosty aspect; and watching the sunset while looking out over the water can be incredible. If you’re here at the right time, the whole place goes golden as the sun reflects off the water and the cliffs.”

Iain Govan

Head Gardener

Glencoe NNR

A dark, pyramid-shaped mountain with patches of snow rises out of a moorland, against a dark sky. A river runs over boulders in the foreground.

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“As you drive through the mountains into the very heart of the glen, you have the sense of entering another world. There’s a deep, brooding majesty here – a sense of being completely at one with nature.

People are always stunned when they visit. Every day, every season, you see something different. I love it when the sun breaks through the clouds, and I love it when the weather is wild and the rain is lashing down.

There’s a very special atmosphere here and the views are always stunning, always amazing.”

Scott McCombie

Senior Ranger & NNR Manager

Inverewe

A gravel path runs through a terraced walled garden, with a loch shore covered in seaweed to the right. Mountains can be seen in the distance.

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“The spirit of Inverewe is hard to define because it is unique to each of us, but this is a very tactile, very emotive place and it dials your emotions right up to ten.

When people come here, we want them to feel as if they’re visiting a private garden and we encourage visitors to explore at their own pace and in their own time, and to make discoveries and connections for themselves.

We can only provide this very special botanical sanctuary thanks to National Trust for Scotland supporters.”

Martin Hughes

Operations Manager

St Kilda World Heritage Site

Looking down on the turquoise waters of Village Bay from the hillside on Hirta. The horseshoe-shape of the bay is very clear. A ship is anchored in the middle of the bay.

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“St Kilda does feel as if it’s at the end of the world when you’re travelling here by boat – when you see how tiny it is against the vast ocean. But when you work here, or visit here, it becomes your world … and it’s an extraordinary one. St Kilda really is quite unforgettable.

Visiting St Kilda and having the opportunity to observe and interact with nature is amazing, and I love it when visitors come and share stories of their own connections to these islands. There’s such a variety to my life and work here, and lots to be done in terms of monitoring and preserving both wildlife and St Kilda’s cultural heritage.”

Sue Loughran

St Kilda ranger

Threave Garden & Nature Reserve

An aerial view of the red sandstone Threave House, surrounded by autumnal woodland on a sunny day. Beyond the woodland, green fields stretch far into the distance.

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“For many visitors, Threave has been part of their life since childhood and they have strong connections to this place. Some visitors come every week, even every day, because they love to see Threave change through the seasons. And ‘change’ is the key word – there’s something to see all year round.

The garden inspires creativity – people feel uplifted by what they’ve seen and want to go home and experiment in their own gardens, so we offer advice and companionship to our visitors, making sure their experience at Threave is always positive, always personal. Nature reignites the creativity that stays dormant in us – the longer you stay in this landscape, the more it is sparked.”

David Thompson

Head Ranger

Do something amazing – help to ensure that the places that make Scotland so special can continue to be explored and that memories between loved ones can continue to be made for generations to come – and dedicate a view in memory of your loved one today.