Gretna Green’s iconic blacksmith’s shop has been transformed following a £1.5 million investment.
Dubbed the UK’s first attraction dedicated to love and marriage its owners have turned it into an immersive experience.
The Gateway to Scotland has been operating for over 250 years and has hosted thousands of weddings since its first ceremony in 1754.
As part of The Famous Blacksmiths Gretna Green Experience, guests are taken on a journey of true love, starting with virtual chats with some of the original anvil priests and ending with a 360 degree immersive show celebrating what love means to us all.
Guests can browse original love letters from the 1700s and learn from the anvil priests themselves about how Gretna Green’s location on the border of Scotland made it the home of runaway romance. Visitors can even experience a sneak peek of a wedding in action and have the chance to add their own love story to the wedding wall.
The Famous Blacksmiths Shop now also houses two wedding venues.
The original Blacksmith’s marriage room where couples have been running away to get married since 1754 has remained untouched and still provides the iconic wedding experience of getting married over the historic anvil.
Next door is the new wedding room “The Forge”. It has kept its original features, and also incorporates modern aspects, including the opportunity to project imagery of your own love story across the walls.
In addition to this, Gretna Green has also unveiled newly refurbished hotels on site – the four star Smiths Hotel and the historic Gretna Hall. Both of the hotels have received large-scale investment including an impressive new penthouse suite at Smith’s Hotel and a full refurbishment of rooms at Gretna Hall.
The launch was a celebration of love with guests including Gretna Green wedding couple, Dennis and Marie, returning for the first time since their wedding at the venue in the 60s. They were joined by local social media stars, Cole and Abbie, who took part in a handfasting ceremony celebrating their love and commitment to each other.
Susan Houston, of the Gretna Green family estate, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to have launched this immersive new attraction here at Gretna Green. This is our way of telling our love story to the world and we can’t wait to welcome visitors from across the country and the globe to our famous destination at the gateway to Scotland ”
