What we're doing to protect the sites in our care

Each of the 300+ historic sites within our care is unique, with their own characteristics and conservation needs. How we care for them largely depends on the type of site, what it’s made from, its location and its age.

We regularly carry out maintenance work to help prevent damage or accelerated deterioration where possible. At some sites, we’ve introduced protective measures for fragile stonework, such as water diversion channels or temporary barriers to help fend off the elements.

At places like Smailholm Tower, we’ve added soft-capping turf to the roof to help insulate and absorb excess water.

All our sites also undergo regular surveys and monitoring to check for signs of damage or deterioration. These can range from simple visual and tactile checks, to using more innovative technologies to scan and survey areas that can’t be checked visually. These surveys can include the careful use of technologies such as drones and digital scanning, allowing us to assess inaccessible areas safely and accurately.

Protective measures and regular maintenance can’t prevent everything, but our experienced teams are on hand to tackle any damage and deterioration when it occurs.

Masonry repairs are one of the more common works you might see happening at sites. These can involve:

• Repointing – replacing missing or damaged mortar to ensure the stability and breathability of the stones.

• Rebedding – temporarily removing loose stones to reintroduce them with new mortar.

• Pinning – using pins to help stabilise cracked stones.

• Plant removal – removing vegetation that’s taken hold in spaces between stones.

Sometimes, repairs aren’t possible, and we might need to replace areas of fabric like stone or wood. In these cases, we always replace with original or similar building materials and carry out the work using traditional methods.

If stonework needs replacing, our stonemasons delicately cut masonry to the same shape, size and likeness to the original stone. Replacement stones are then bedded into place using traditional mortars, usually lime, to help the stones breathe and reduce moisture.

Metal conservators and blacksmiths work to maintain and repair metal fixtures across our sites, including gates, grates and decorative finishes. In 2025, the conservation team at Glasgow Cathedral hosted Dom and Lucia from BBC’s The Repair Shop on the Road for a behind-the-scenes look from the top of the 225-foot spire and at conservation work on the iconic weathervane.

Many of our sites are made up of beautiful and historic landscapes that also need maintaining and conserving. Work on our landscapes can include managing trees and woodland, introducing protection measures for archaeological features, and even using grazing animals to help manage plant life.

One of our most recognisable landscapes, Holyrood Park, needs regular work to maintain busy paths to help accommodate its millions of visitors a year. But some paths, like those on the rocky faces of Arthur’s Seat, aren’t very accessible to equipment and materials, and sometimes we need to enlist the help of a helicopter.

Carrying out regular conservation work helps ensure these places survive for future generations to enjoy. While work is ongoing, you may see fencing, scaffolding or occasional access restrictions at some sites. This helps keep everyone safe. And if you spot any of our experts on site, feel free to say hello!

More about how we manage Holyrood Park

Work to look after these special places doesn’t just take place on-site. We have many specialists working across the organisation that support our conservation work, from scientists and digital innovation experts to ecologists and engineers.

Our conservation work is also supported by extensive research into traditional building materials, methodology and climate effects on traditional buildings. This research, along with our retrofit and climate change professionals, also helps us explore options for adapting historic sites and traditional buildings in response to our changing climate. Solar panels at Edinburgh Castle, coastal defences at Skara Brae and flood resilient drainage to manage extreme rainfall are just some of the ways we’re arming our sites for the future.

Read more about our research

As well as the fabric of monuments, we care for the skills needed to maintain Scotland’s high streets, homes and historic sites for future generations. Every year we train new generations of specialists like stonemasons, thatchers and carpenters through our career programmes, and we lead the sector on championing traditional skills. The Skills Investment Plan sets out how the sector will foster knowledge and expertise to build an accessible skills system for the future.

Across our sites and archives, we also look after and conserve more than 5 million objects, photographs, manuscripts and drawings of national significance.

Find out about how we care for them