Drum Castle at Drumoak has been besieged by arrows once again – but this time by a band of friendly invaders.
Members of Echt Neighbourhood Watch and Echt Horticultural Society were drafted in to help castle chiefs drum up visitor interest in its new temporary art gallery.
The castle hosting key works from Aberdeen Art Gallery’s modern collection, on show at Drum while the city attraction is closed for a two year refurbishment.
The gallery has been developed in an area of the castle previously unseen by the public and staff called on help from the local community to get an independent view of how the new attraction would best fit into the castle tour.
The volunteers came in and helped point the way to the new attraction and new signs – bearing arrows – have been put in place as a result.
Property manager Dr Alison Burke, said: “As the gallery was not part of the visitor experience before, we weren’t sure how visitors would want to make their way around the castle physically and understand it intellectually.
“We see the castle every day and are so familiar with it that we thought we might not see it as a new visitor does. Therefore, we decided to ask our volunteers to take a fresh look at the castle.
“Their feedback was invaluable and we’ve used their advice and input to help navigate our visitors to the new gallery and understand the journey.”
Drum Castle is owned and managed by the National Trust for Scotland, and the featured art works have been loaned by Aberdeen Art Gallery which is closed as part of a £30 million redevelopment to create a world class cultural centre for the city.