Thousands visit summer holiday dinosaur attraction

Visitors to Lanark’s summer holiday dinosaur trail have given the event a big thumbs up. 

Organisers Discover Lanark have been delighted by the response to the 7-week event which saw dinosaur hunters flock to Lanark from across Scotland and beyond, with over 6000 trail maps handed out.

An impressive 95% of respondents to a survey conducted during Jurassic Lanark rated the trail ‘very good’ with social media feedback equally positive.

“I always love seeing the sheer joy and excitement on the children’s faces when they go around the dinosaurs. I feel it makes Lanark a happier place,” one local person shared.

Another visitor commented, “We spent four hours in Lanark with our daughter and four grandchildren on Monday.  The dinosaur trail was fabulous and the kids loved the play area at Castlebank Park. Well done everyone for all the effort organising this and the staff at the Tolbooth were great with the children.”

A grandparent added, “Took our grandsons yesterday and they had a great day. We all did.”

“Absolutely brilliant. A great success, the children and adults loved it and the fact that it is free nis a huge bonus for parents and grandparents,” another remarked.

The 2024 event marked the fourth Jurassic Lanark event and included two trails, the original Monster Trail and, new for 2024, a Mini Shop Window Trail. The Dino-Mite Kids Fun Weekends in Castlebank Park featured baby puppet dinosaurs, Titch and Nibbles, and crowd favourite Fergus, the friendly TRex, whilst a new Dino Fossil Dig in the Tolbooth was very popular with budding palaeontologists. A prize draw for a Bumper Dino Bundle drew an impressive total of 2500 entrants.

Antonia Pompa, Discover Lanark Manager said, “It’s been a fabulous 7 weeks and we’ve been delighted to welcome so many dinosaur hunters to Lanark from across the central belt of Scotland, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Falkirk, Stirling, Ayrshire and beyond.”

“As a business organisation, we aim to boost footfall and spend in the town, and Jurassic Lanark certainly delivers on both counts. Our visitor research indicates that 83% of respondents said that they had something to eat or drink whilst in Lanark and 46% visited one or more local shops.” 

“We are very keen to run the event for another year and will be thinking hard about how we can improve the trail as a family attraction once again.”