EDINBURGH, 2015-11-23 — /Travel PR News/ — A galaxy of Scottish stars have come together in a glossy new coffee-table book, celebrating their homeland in words and pictures.
With imagery and research provided by VisitScotland, My Scotland by its Famous Sons and Daughters is released on Monday 23 November, just in time for Christmas.
It showcases interviews with 58 celebrities who talk about how their nation has shaped their lives and careers. These run alongside full-colour photos of their favourite places in Scotland.
Rory Bremner, Denis Law, Sir Jackie Stewart, Nicola Benedetti, John Greig, Billy McNeill, Judy Murray, Donovan, Katherine Grainger and Midge Ure are just a few of the celebrities to share their memories of Scotland.
Two of Hollywood’s biggest Scottish stars, Brian Cox and Dougray Scott, also share their favourite places.
Brian Cox said: “When you’re from Dundee the first thing you become aware of is water – the sea, the River Tay and what they both represent. To me they opened up the rest of the world. The river was something to be crossed, to see what’s on the other side, to get away and to explore – but always to come back.”
Dougray Scott said: “My travels with my father gave me a great early love of Scotland. My favourite place is the Mull of Kintyre – so good Paul McCartney wrote a song about it! It’s a great journey from Glasgow to get there, past Loch Fyne and down the peninsula with beautiful views of Gigha and Jura. I love it.”
Two of the most poignant sections centre on music hero Jack Bruce and legendary singer Jean Redpath in last major interviews about the place they called home before both passed away in 2014.
And fabulous views of the Highlands, islands, mountains, lochs and urban landscapes from Shetland down to the Borders are also featured.
Ninety per cent of the book’s profits will be donated to Scottish charities, chiefly the Children’s Hospice Association Scotland, as well as some hand-picked charities close to the hearts of some of the sons and daughters taking part.
The book was produced by writers Anne Graham and Michael Hamilton whose affection for Scotland spurred them on to compile the 240-page hardback.
Anne said: “We’ve always loved Scotland and its people and we recently moved to an island near the Scottish Borders so the time seemed right to write about it. We were delighted that so many great names gave us their time and took part with such enthusiasm.”
Mike Cantlay, Chairman of VisitScotland, said: “This is a wonderful publication in which some of our best-loved celebrities share treasured memories of their favourite Scottish places. These tales of our bustling cities and hidden gems will inspire potential visitors from all over the world to discover the locations that make Scotland a hit with its famous sons and daughters.”
Donovan, who is celebrating his 50 years in the music business this year, is one of the celebrities featured. He said: “It’s a lovely piece of work – I approve of it wholeheartedly.”
And, inspired by the book, he even wrote a short verse:
“My Scotland will always be ours,
“Wherever we roam,
“Scotia, she is always our home”
My Scotland by its Famous Sons and Daughters is published by Kingfisher Reach Publishing and is available in bookstores and online at www.my-scotland.org
For more information and/or a review copy of the book, contact Anne Graham on 07790 675 849 or emailannejag@aol.com
Or Michael Hamilton on 07976 365776 or email michaeljhamilton@aol.com
Notes to Editors
- Follow us on twitter: @visitscotnews
- VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourism organisation. Its core purpose is to maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Scotland.
- The organisation’s core objective is to contribute to the Tourism 2020 Strategy ambition of growing tourism revenues by £1 billion by 2020.
- This will be supported by seven overarching strategies:
- Marketing: we will market Scotland and its outstanding assets to visitors from all parts of the world, including the promotion of Scotland to people living in Scotland to visit different parts of the country
- Events: we will support the national events strategy and its delivery, and sustain, develop and promote Scotland’s international profile as one of the world’s foremost events destinations
- Internationalisation and International Engagement: we will utilise all our platforms to enable Scottish-based tourism businesses to better understand international opportunities and market to a global audience and we will work within One Scotland Partnerships to optimise the potential of Scotland’s Diaspora and our strategic partners at regional, European and global levels
- Customer Experience: we will provide information and inspiration to visitors both locally and globally via their preferred medium of choice
- Quality and Sustainability: we will provide support and advice to businesses, with the goal of improving the quality and sustainability of the tourism sector in Scotland. We will provide quality assurance to visitors through our Quality Schemes
- Inclusive Tourism: we will strive to make tourism in Scotland inclusive and available to all
- Working in Partnership: we will listen to and work with the industry, partners and communities to shape our offering and support
- VisitScotland works together with tourism businesses to make tourism a success for everyone and ensure the industry continues to grow.
- The organisation employs 700 people and has offices and VisitScotland Information Centres across Scotland.
- According to a recent Deloitte study, the tourism economy supports 270,000 jobs in Scotland in 20,000 diverse businesses. The same study calculates that the tourism economy contributes £11 billion annually (direct and indirect impact, including day visits) and supports around 10 per cent of employment in Scotland. Almost 16 million tourists take overnight trips to Scotland.
- For VisitScotland’s press releases go to http://www.visitscotland.org/media_centre.aspx, tourism statistics and frequently asked questions go to http://www.visitscotland.org/
- Where possible, a Gaelic speaker will be made available for broadcast interviews on request (Far an tèid iarraidh, agus far am bheil sin nar comas, bruidhinnidh neach le Gàidhlig aig agallamh)
- For holiday information on Scotland go to www.visitscotland.com
- For information about business events in Scotland go to www.conventionscotland.com
Year of Food and Drink 2015
- 2015 is the Year of Food and Drink, a celebration of Scotland’s natural larder and the role that food and drink plays in shaping our economic success.
- Scotland generates over £2.5m per day through food and drink tourism.
- A series of themed months will create an appetite for key areas of Scotland’s food and drink industries – from seafood and whisky to berries and high-quality meat
- For more information, visit www.visitscotland.com/tastescotland
SOURCE: VisitScotland
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VisitScotland celebrates Scotland with the release of book My Scotland by its Famous Sons and Daughters