Details announced for Mary Queen of Scots Festival 2017

The area of Kinross and Loch Leven in Scotland will host an event next September called The Mary Queen of Scots Festival 2017.

The festival will celebrate the culture, history and heritage of the Kinross area, most notably its connection to Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots.

The event will commemorate Mary’s life at Kinross, made all the more important as Kinross consecutively marks the 450th year of its relationship with the castle on Loch Leven Island.

It was in this castle that Mary was held captive and spent some of her most troubled years, and also where her reign ended in 1567.

The festival will take place over a weekend in September – exact dates are still to be confirmed – and the event will include living history encampments, music, food and drink and a programme of entertainment.

Groups can stay updated with forthcoming details by visiting maryqueenofscotsfestival.co.uk.

Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology

The Mary Queen of Scots Festival will take place as part of VisitScotland’s Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology celebrations.

Groups visiting the country throughout 2017 will be able to experience and relive Scotland’s historic past through a range of events and activities at a number of tourist attractions.

Events will include an International Festival of Weaving in Paisley next summer that will ‘reconnect the town's weaving heritage with its historic textile connections all over the world’; and TradFest.

Tradfest will be a summer season dedicated to folk arts in Edinburgh, and visitors can enjoy music, storytelling, dance, folk film, talks, crafts and visual arts across the Scottish capital.

For further information visit www.visitscotland.com/hha2017.