Visiting scheduled monuments
Scheduled monuments are some of the most enthralling and enigmatic places you can visit in Scotland - remember to do so responsibly.
Over 300 scheduled monuments are also properties in care, managed and opened to the public as Historic Scotland attractions.
However, most of Scotland’s 8,000 scheduled monument remain in private ownership. When a site is made a scheduled monument, it remains the property of its owner and there is no duty to maintain or manage a site positively, though we do encourage this.
On these pages, find out the rules and your responsibilities when visiting a scheduled monument, whether you're taking a family day out to a popular tourist spot, seeking out a filming location from your favourite TV show or heading into the hills to find a remote ruin.
Wild camping, metal detecting and magnet fishing
Make sure you know the laws and restrictions relating to these activities
Wild camping
How you can make sure you avoid camping on scheduled monuments and the other ways you can help us protect them.
Magnet fishing
Magnet fishing can be an enjoyable activity, but it needs to be properly planned. Be aware of your legal and environmental responsibilities, and how you should report what you find.
Metal detecting
Get advice on responsible metal detecting in Scotland. It can help us understand our past, but using a metal detector without consent can be against the law.
Follow the code
The Scottish Outdoor Access Code describes the rights people have under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003. In Scotland, you can go on to most land to enjoy the outdoors – as long as you behave responsibly and follow the code.
There are no additional rights for the public to access a site because it is a scheduled monument.
If you are visiting a scheduled monument, do enjoy the site but leave it as you find it:
Do not take anything away
Do not camp, light fires or use metal detectors
Do not dig or disturb the ground surface
Do not do anything that will disturb or move loose stones or objects
Find a scheduled monument
Scheduled monuments tell Scotland's story from how prehistoric settlers lived and work all the way to how the country defended itself in the Second World War. You can browse thousands of scheduled monuments on trove.scot.