The new trench at the Gordon Highlanders Museum in Aberdeen has helped boost visitor numbers by more than 40%.
The recreation of how life would have been like for so many soldiers throughout the First World War only opened to the public in February.
But the chief executive of the museum said yesterday he was delighted there had been so much interest in the initiative, especially from school groups across the north east in the last two months.
Bryan Snelling and curator Ruth Duncan came up with the idea after spotting a replica trench when touring the Staffordshire Regimental Museum in Litchfield four years ago.
It was designed to be as realistic as possible and staff at the Viewfield Road site enlisted the help of tree surgeons to help construct it next to the main building.
Mr Snelling said: “It has been such a success and the number of visitors is up by 41% on this time last year, so it is clear that many people want to see this for themselves.
“The feedback has been very positive and we have visitors from as far afield as America and Australia, but it is the amount of schools who have booked visits and already come here which has been so pleasing.
“The Friends of the Gordon Highlanders have created kid-sized tunics and Glengarries, such as would have been worn by the regiment during the conflict, and the youngsters and their teachers have shown us that they really care about what happened more than 100 years ago.
“It’s the first time we have attempted an immersive experience and the trench has clearly captured many people’s imaginations.”
Just two years ago, the museum was facing an uncertain future and launched an appeal to raise £300,000, following the negative impact of the oil and gas downturn in the region.
But while Mr Snelling confirmed there had been a terrific response, both from businesses and private individuals, he and his colleagues are now determined to plan for the long-term at what is currently Aberdeen’s only five-star visitor attraction.
He said: “It has been a very busy and uplifting couple of years, but we don’t want to find ourselves again in the situation we were in at the start of 2017, so the work never stops.
“We get a lot of visitors from Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, but there are strong Gordons links in Moray and Angus and we would be delighted if schools in these areas contacted us to visit the Trench.
“I’m sure they will find it rewarding and instructive.”
