The £12m refurbishment of part of a historic Scottish castle brought it to a bumper total of visitors this year.

Stirling Castle saw a 17% year-on-year increase in visitor numbers after Stirling Palace, built for James V in 1538, was re-opened following a two-year restoration.

The project restored the Renaissance property to how it would have looked in the mid-16th century.

As a whopping 4,500 people came to see the re-opened palace during its first weekend, Stirling Castle jumped to the second spot for tourist footfall to Historic Scotland sites, with 441,924 through the gates, second only to Edinburgh Castle.

Morris & Spottiswood of Glasgow, specialists in fitting buildings out, were the main contractors for the painstaking restoration.

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A replica of the Order of the Thistle on the ceiling of the King's Bed Chamber was carved in oak by Livingston-based John Donaldson and painted by MacKay Decorators, a long-running Perth concern with expertise in listed buildings.

Graciella Ainsworth of Edinburgh was subcontracted to advise on sculpture conservation and Cannon-MacInnes of Glasgow provided stained glass.

Embroidery was taken on by Malcolm Lochhead of Glasgow Caledonian University, and The Conservation Studio were responsible for furniture painting.

Other contractors in the mammoth restoration task came from further afield, with input from England and France.

Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs, said the Stirling Palace restoration was "key" to a boost in visitor numbers that saw Historic Scotland take in £31.5m, a jump of 13%.

She said: "Historic Scotland's properties provide our visitors with a unique experience to see our rich, diverse and colourful history up close. While we have seen major improvements in areas such as the retail offering, what has also been key has been the continued improvements in the interpretation of these sites such as the major investment undertaken at Stirling Palace."

(NE/GK)