Dunnottar Castle custodian Wendy Sylvester has departed after a five-and-a-half-year stint which has seen visitor numbers soar.
During her watch the iconic Mearns ruin on the rock has become one of Scotland’s top attractions, and she had no regrets as she handed over the key of the great door to her successor Jim Wands.
From the start, stunning though the location is, Wendy wanted to prove to visitors the castle merited so much more than just a quick snap from the top of the cliff.
Numbers are now near 100,000 a year, and she declared: “I always wanted Dunnottar to compare well with Edinburgh and it can.
“I just love a challenge and I don’t do half measures,” said Wendy.
“I could see the potential here and for the first few years I lived and breathed the job. The office was actually part of my house.”
During her time at the helm the castle has also gained a four-star VisitScotland rating, a gold green tourism award for three years in a row, and has come runner-up in the Thistle Award for top north-east visitor attraction.
“It has felt like David taking on Goliath at times, with some pretty mighty opposition. While our competitors all have their specialist marketing and advertising departments and so on, we just have our small core team augmented at the height of the season by students and casual staff.
“But what a team,” said Wendy.
She especially credited the factor of Dunecht Estates (castle owners) Emily Telford for sharing her vision and driving the business forward.
Fostering closer links between the castle and the town of Stonehaven has also been a priority, and Dunnottar’s sponsorship this year of the Stonehaven folk festival was the culmination of several years’ hard work.
For a new challenge Wendy has taken up the post of manager of a water sports complex in the Highlands.
That leaves Jim, who comes from a background in the British Transport Police, to keep the castle on the right track, with plans including a new visitor centre which promise further massive visitor growth.