The Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh is one of the unsung stars of heritage in the UK. It is one of Scotland’s most important buildings, with a royal history stretching back 900 years. It is best known as the home of Mary Queen of Scots and where her courtier, David Rizzio, was murdered.
After a competitive tender, ATS was appointed to work with the Royal Collection to develop a multimedia tour of Holyrood which would not only improve the visitor experience at this historic site but transform the way its story is told.
One of the key aims of the project for the Royal Collection, was to highlight that there is so much more to the palace’s history than visitors expect. Our challenge was to show visitors that the fascinating story of Mary Queen of Scots is only one of the fascinating stories that Holyrood has to tell.
ATS worked closely with both the curators and the Visitor Services team to develop the tour and train and support staff in its distribution and management.
Using our expert storytelling skills we brought to life the 900 year royal and political history of Holyrood using a full range of multimedia, including virtual reality, ‘Rubaways’, aerial drone shots, animation, interactives, games and film.
We created tours for adults and families that allow visitors to explore the site from its origins as a royal Abbey to today when it is still the official base for The King in Scotland.
Visitors can access interviews with experts who look after Holyrood and its collection, they can focus on objects that interest them and they can hear members of the Royal Family talking about how the palace is a crucial base for the monarchy in Scotland.
The tour has been very well received and in particular our VR recreation of Holyrood Abbey which has amazed visitors and shown them just how far the history of the site goes back.
TripAdvisor February 2024: "Don’t miss this! Beautiful palace and the audio tour is very informative! The grounds are wide but in February it was just green and blustery. Definitely worth a visit to walk through the palace, see the rooms and get info via the audio guide."
TripAdvisor January 2024: "The Palace is amazing and the audio guide was great, really informative."
TripAdvisor January 2024: "My ticket included an audio guide which is a must this gives you a good idea of the history of the rooms and in some cases how the room has changed over time under different monarchs."
TripAdvisor January 2024: "We took an audio guide each and independently worked our way through. The audio guide is one of the best ones we’ve used. It was really easy to follow, informative and engaging; it was also completely up to date with King Charles III. Having different members of the royal family speak on the guide kept it interesting."
TripAdvisor November 2023: "The audio tour was very informative, whilst short enough at each stop to keep your interest piqued. There was the opportunity for interactivity with the audio tour guide screens and at locations along the tour route."
