From chocolate in York to monsters up north

Leading UK visitor attraction group based in York, Continuum Attractions, which runs York’s Chocolate Story is taking over one of Scotland’s most famous visitor attractions, The Loch Ness Centre and Exhibition, near Inverness, investing £1.5m into its refurbishment and reopening in Spring 2023.

Continuum are award-winning, authentic storytellers, experts at turning heritage and history into popular visitor attractions and experiences for guests from all around the world to enjoy - York’s Chocolate Story notably being one of the most famous stories to tell here in York.

The new Loch Ness Centre will become the eighth attraction within the Continuum UK-wide portfolio, alongside; The Real Mary King’s Close in Edinburgh, York’s Chocolate Story in York, Emmerdale Village Tour in Leeds, Coronation Street The Tour in Manchester, Greenwood Family Park in North Wales, Oxford Castle and Prison in Oxford, and Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth. For nearly 20 years, Continuum Attractions also operated and marketed the Jorvik Viking Centre at the peak of its success.

The transformation will engage, entertain and inform guests, focusing on telling the globally renowned story behind the legend of Loch Ness, exploring the myths, alongside the scientific research, that has turned Nessie into one of Scotland’s most famous brand icons.

The major refurbishment of the visitor experience will take 12 weeks to complete with a newly named The Loch Ness Centre reopening in Spring 2023.

The first Loch Ness exhibition was founded in May 1980 by Ronnie Bremner and designer Tony Hamsworth.

The following winter, in conjunction with naturalist Adrian Shine, leader of the Loch Ness Project a life long partnership was formed between the Loch Ness Centre and the Loch Ness Project which continues to this day with the Projects laboratory and research centre on site.

Continuum’s investment in a new five-star attraction will further unlock the mysteries and history of the world-famous destination and its many year-round activities and attractions.

Juliana Delaney, chief executive of Continuum Attractions, said: “Continuum tells the real stories in real places about real people. The search for Nessie encapsulates all three. Having had tremendous success with the award-winning Real Mary King’s Close on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, I was keen to seek out another great Scottish story to tell.

“We found it on Loch Ness. This is a magical place - it could be our Jurassic Park, and if a monster hasn’t been found here yet, this is the place in which it will be discovered! So I will encourage everyone to ‘keep looking’.”

Chris Taylor, VisitScotland regional leadership director, said: “Loch Ness is renowned the world over for its most elusive resident, Nessie, and indeed the Loch Ness Centre and Exhibition has and will continue to attract visitors from around the world each year.

“In Scotland’s Year of Stories, it is great to hear that this investment will mean that even more people will have the chance to learn all about Nessie – the subject of so many myths, tales and stories over the years.

“Tourism is a force for good. It creates jobs, sustains communities and contributes significantly to the economy. The impact of tourism spreads far beyond the industry itself - it benefits our economy, our community and our wellbeing.”

Outgoing managing director Robert Bremner said: “This is an exciting time for the Loch Ness Centre and Exhibition.

“Retaining the authenticity of the attraction was always our priority and we know we’re in safe hands working with the award-winning team at Continuum, who have outstanding capability in authentic storytelling and creating an exceptional visitor experience, with a focus on tourism operators; while retaining the families ownership of this historic site.

“As a family we have been in control of the Loch Ness Centre and Exhibition for over 40 years and my brother David and I felt the time was right for us to hand over the reigns to Continuum to develop the new and improved offering which will allow visitors to experience the history of the Loch Ness Monster by exploring Scotland’s geological past and folklore like never before.”