Date Published: 24th July 2025
The Great Tapestry of Scotland tripping the light fantastic
Alexander McCall Smith was delighted to hear that – for the second year running – The Great Tapestry of Scotland centre in Galashiels in the Scottish Borders, has been awarded a place in Tripadvisor’s Top 10% of Attractions WORLDWIDE.
This is a massive achievement. Huge congratulations to Sandy Maxwell Forbes and her superb team in Galashiels.
If you haven’t visited yet – what are you waiting for! Book your ticket here.
Alexander McCall Smith was inspired to create an embroidered tapestry to tell the full history of Scotland when he visited a much smaller project on the Battle of Prestonpans. Andrew Crummy was the artist for that project and soon came on board to work with Alexander and the historian Alistair Moffat to create a community art project without rival. AND THEN 1000+ stitchers from across Scotland’s mainland and beyond took the project to their hearts and brought the design and the narrative to life. The result was a stitched artwork which took three years to complete, toured across the country, viewed by 500,000+ visitors. It is now proudly housed in a stunning purpose-built gallery in Galashiels. A history of Scotland, the vision of three of the most creative minds in the country, managed into existence by women, stitched (mostly) by women and now housed in a building designed by a woman, Suzy O’Leary for Page Park Architects.
