Representatives from Sir Walter Scott’s Abbotsford home near Melrose in the Scottish Borders will head to Moscow and St Petersburg later this month (23-27 January) to spread the word about the historic property to potential Russian visitors.

Sir Walter and his works have been well known in Russia since they were first published there in the 1820s. He is seen by many as the father of modern Russian literature with his writing influencing many of the country’s literary giants including Tolstoy and Pushkin who declared in 1824 that Scott was “food for the soul’. Scott’s works were taught on the country’s school curriculum until as recently as 2010.

Abbotsford’s Marketing Manager, Beverley Rutherford and Ros Dryden, manager of the new visitor centre which will open on-site later this year, will be part of a delegation of Scottish tourism businesses travelling with VisitScotland and VisitBritain to meet face to face with travel operators from Russia and Russian speaking countries including Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgystan.

Jason Dyer, Chief Executive, the Abbotsford Trust said;

“Sir Walter Scott’s influence has extended right across the globe and today in countries like Russia, his work is probably more well known than it is in Scotland.  We believe there is a tremendous opportunity for Abbotsford to attract visitors from Russia and beyond to come and visit the place where the majority of Scott’s great works were written. Our new visitor centre opens this Summer and when combined with the newly-restored Abbotsford which opens again in 2013, we believe we will have an attraction with international appeal that will bring visitors from all over the world to the Scottish Borders.”

The new Visitor Centre at Abbotsford is currently under construction and is scheduled to open in early Summer 2012.  The main house is currently closed to the public to allow an extensive programme of restoration and refurbishment.  It will re-open in 2013.