Terms & conditions

Terms of use | Online Ordering | Crown Copyright

Terms of Use

Please read this agreement carefully before using the services. They represent the terms and conditions ("Terms") for using Historic Scotland Websites. The Edinburgh Castle website, Stirling Castle website, mobile website and webstore are owned and run by Historic Scotland.

In using this site you are agreeing and are bound to the Terms as stipulated by Historic Scotland. If you do not agree to these, then do not use our Website. You are permitted to use our Website solely on the basis of these Terms. We reserve the right, at our discretion, to update and/or revise these Terms. Please check periodically for changes.

To complete a transaction on our webstore you will be asked to complete a checkbox acknowledging that you have read and understand our terms & conditions. This also indicates that you have acknowledged and accept our terms & conditions.

Disclaimer
Historic Scotland Websites and material relating to government information, Products and services (or to third party information, Products and services), is provided 'as is', without any representation or endorsement made and without warranty of any kind whether express or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of satisfactory quality, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, compatibility, security, completeness and accuracy.

We do not warrant or represent that the functions contained in the material available on this site will be uninterrupted or error free, that defects will be corrected, or that this site or the server that makes it available are free of viruses or represent the full functionality, accuracy or reliability of the materials.

In no event will Historic Scotland be liable for any expense, loss or damage including, without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any expense, loss or damage whatsoever arising from use, or loss of use, of data, or loss of profits, arising out of or in connection with the use of the Website and its webstore or reliance on its content.

No data transmission over the internet can be guaranteed as totally secure. Whilst we strive to protect such information, we do not warrant and cannot ensure the security of any information which you transmit to us. Accordingly, any information which you transmit to us is transmitted at your own risk.

Registration & Security
You must register to purchase Products from this Website and lawfully enter into and form contracts. To register for our services, you must be over eighteen years of age. You must ensure that the details provided by you upon purchase are true, correct and complete in all respects. You agree not to impersonate any other person or entity or to use a false name or a name that you are not authorised to use.

This information is stored securely on our database, please read our Privacy Policy.

If you have chosen to opt-in to receive future communications from Historic Scotland, then your details will be held until such time as you choose to unsubscribe from the service. Users who no longer wish to receive our communications may opt-out by clicking unsubscribe option on any email communication received or the user may contact us to opt-out on 0131 668 8081.

Privacy Policy
The Website is owned and run by Historic Scotland. We recognise the importance of protecting the privacy of the users of our websites. Any personal data collected through this website will be treated as confidential in line with the principles of the Data Protection Act 1998. We will not supply your details to any third party organisations.

The Data Protection Act
Under the Data Protection Act, we have a legal duty to protect any information we collect from you. We use leading technologies and encryption software to safeguard your data, and keep strict security standards to prevent any unauthorised access to it.

Collection and Use of Personal Information
Historic Scotland is the sole owner of the information collected on this website. Historic Scotland processes personal data for the purposes of providing the service that you have signed up for.

What Information Do We Collect?
We collect two kinds of information from visitors: your details (through registration) and site usage information, using cookies and page tagging techniques.

Registration
When you shop on this Website, we will ask you to input and will collect personal information from you such as your name, e-mail address, billing address, telephone number, product selections, payment information and a password. We may also collect information such as where you are on the internet, your browser type, the country you accessed the site from and the pages of our website that were viewed during your visit.

We confirm that any personal information which you provide to us and any user information, from which we can identify you, is held in accordance with the registration we have with the Information Commissioner's Office. We will use your information only for the following purposes:

  • Processing your orders;
  • Statistical purposes to improve this website and its services to you;
  • Servicing website content and
  • Administering this Website.

Historic Scotland also maintains an opt-in policy in regard to sending promotional ecommunications. When you are contacted by email, you will be told how to opt out of hearing from us if you wish. Users who want to be removed from our database can also contact us directly.

International Data Transfer
Personal information that is submitted to us to purchase online tickets and/ or guides (audio, souvenir) on the Website will be transferred to, and stored at a destination outside the European Economic Area ("EEA"). At present the personal data is being transferred, stored and processed in the United States of America. Different countries have different data protection laws, some of which provide more protection than others. In these circumstances contractual safeguards are in place to comply with laws applicable to such transfers, as defined in the Data Protection Act 1998. By providing us with your information you agree to such international data transfer and storage in accordance with the terms of this Policy.

Site Usage - Cookies and Website Traffic Analysis
When users enter the Historic Scotland website their computers will automatically be issued with 'cookies'. Cookies are text files which identify users' computers to Historic Scotland’s server. The website then creates "session" cookies to store some of the preferences of users moving around the website, e.g. retaining a text-only preference.

Cookies in themselves do not identify individual users but identify only the computer used and they are deleted on departure from the website.

Cookies enhance our website performance in a number of ways including providing a secure way for us to measure use of the website including number of visitors, how frequently pages are viewed, and the city and country of origin of users. This helps to determine what is popular and can influence future content and development.

Users have the opportunity to set their computers to accept all cookies, to notify them when a cookie is issued, or not to receive cookies at any time. The last of these means that certain personalised services cannot then be provided to that user.

For this purpose, the Historic Scotland uses a web traffic analysis package to measure and analyse usage of the website to help us improve our service to you. The information collected by Historic Scotland will include IP address, pages visited, browser type and operating system.

A full list of the cookies used across all of Historic Scotland's websites is available at: www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/privacy

Log files
We store log files on our web server to allow the recording and analysis of users' use of the website. Log files do not contain any personal information.

We will take all reasonable care, in so far as it is in our power to do so, to keep the details of your order and payment secure, but in the absence of negligence on our part we cannot be held liable for any loss you may suffer if a third party procures unauthorised access to any data you provide when accessing or ordering from this website.

Legal Disclaimer
Though we make every effort to preserve user privacy, we may need to disclose personal information when required by law wherein we have a good-faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with a current judicial proceeding, a court order or legal process served on our website.

Third Party Intermediaries
We use an outside contractor to host our user database. This company do not retain, share or use personally identifiable information for any secondary purposes.

Notification of Changes
If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will place an updated version on this page. Regularly reviewing this page ensures you are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it and under what circumstances, if any, we will share it with other parties

Contact Us
If users have any questions or suggestions regarding our privacy policy, please contact us at:

Phone: 0131 668 8081
Email: hs.ticketing@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
Postal address: The eCommerce Team, Historic Scotland, Longmore House, Salisbury Place, Edinburgh, EH9 1SH
Website:www.historic-scotland.gov.uk

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Online Ordering
Our security policy and procedures also apply to all orders placed through Historic Scotland Websites; the official Historic Scotland webstore and our mobile websites.

Online orders will be completed through the official Historic Scotland webstore.

You will be guided through the process of placing an order by a series of simple instructions.

  • We will send to you an order acknowledgement email detailing the Products you have ordered.
  • Order acceptance and the completion of the contract between you and us will take place on the despatch to you of the Products ordered unless we have notified you that we do not accept your order or you have cancelled it in accordance with the policy 'How to cancel your order'.
  • Online ticket printing is available at no extra charge and can be printed immediately upon successful completion of the order (including payment).

    Non-acceptance of an order may be a result of one of the following:
  • Our inability to obtain authorisation for your payment;
  • Technical errors;
  • You not meeting the eligibility to order criteria set out in the Registration & Security section above.

Mobile Ordering

  • Mobile orders will receive an email and SMS text message with your order confirmation number.
  • Order confirmations must be stored on your mobile phone until the date and time of visit and such safekeeping is your responsibility.
  • It is your responsibility to ensure that you carry your mobile phone and that your phone is charged, functional and that you are able to display your order for inspection.
  • You will allow our admission staff to view the order on your mobile phone if necessary and you acknowledge that you may be requested to hand over your mobile phone for inspection. If you do not hand over your mobile phone upon a request, our admission staff shall be entitled to consider that you are without a ticket.
  • Data charges may apply from your network provider depending on your individual tariff. You are responsible for any such costs.
  • We cannot provide any warranties for the levels of connectivity you receive via your mobile phone. This may depend upon your tariff, network provider or corporate policy if you have a work-issued handset. We cannot accept any responsibility for any connectivity issues you may experience. Please contact your network provider if you require assistance with your data connection on your phone.
  • Our mobile website may not work on all mobile phones/mobile devices. Compatibility may depend on the settings or capability of your phone/device.

Products

General Admission

  • A fast track admission ticket includes entrance and a guided tour unless stated otherwise. Free guided tours are subject to weather and availability of staff.
  • Prices may vary for special events.
  • Tickets are non-refundable and may not be copied, transferred or resold.
  • General admission tickets are valid for one day admission. Each ticket is valid for one person.
  • Admission prices are for the period 1 April to the following 1 April (from date of when ticket was ordered).
  • Historic Scotland reserves the right to alter admission prices and opening times without notice.
  • From time to time we may promote offers onsite only and not the Website.
  • There is no concession for students. The concession rate applies to the over 60s and visitors receiving state benefits. 10% discount for Young Scot/Euro card holders are not accepted on the webstore.
  • Children under the age of 5 go free.
  • Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.
  • Orders of 11 or more tickets will receive a 10% discount.
  • For visitors accompanied by a carer, the carer will be admitted free of charge. The visitor requiring assistance must pay an admission fee.
  • The Members of Historic Scotland's 20% discount does not apply to any purchases made on the Website.
  • Only discounts directly available from the Website such as through Special Offers will apply to purchases made on the Website.
  • The Explorer Pass 20% discount does not apply to any purchases made on the Website.
  • Visitors should check opening times before a visit. The opening times for independent museums may vary.
  • Last entry is 1 hour before closing unless stated otherwise.

Souvenir and audio guides
When you order a souvenir and/or audio guide online, you will be issued with an email confirmation to acknowledge your order. Mobile orders will also receive a SMS text message with your order confirmation number. Your order is redeemable at the collection points outlined in Delivery Methods.

You may be asked for proof of identity during collection.

How to Cancel Your Order
If you wish to exercise your right to cancel this contract, contact 0131 668 8081 or email hs.ticketing@scotland.gsi.gov.uk to cancel your order. Please note that admission tickets and Explorer Passes are non-refundable.

This does not affect your statutory rights under Scots Law.

Payment
All prices are in pounds sterling £ inclusive of the current rate of Value Added Tax VAT applied in the UK (where applicable) and are correct at the time of entering the information onto the system.

The total cost of your order is the price of the Product(s). Payment can be made by any of the methods specified in the Payment section of the webstore and payment will be debited and cleared from your account at time of order. Prices may change at any time prior to acceptance of your order.

You confirm that the credit/debit card that is being used is yours. We accept Visa, Visa Electron, Mastercard, Visa Delta, Solo, and JCB online. Maestro is temporarily unavailable as a method of payment.

All credit/debit cardholders are subject to validation checks and authorisation by the card issuer. If the issuer of your payment card refuses to or does not, for any reason, authorise payment to us, we will not be liable for any delay or non-delivery.

Credit card transactions are made on a separate secure server, with full encryption of all credit card data. Your credit card details and personal information will not be shared with any other company or organization.

Delivery Methods

Online Delivery Methods
Customers will be given two options for the delivery of Products on the webstore. For certain Products only one delivery method may apply.

1) Print at home. Customers will receive an email confirmation with their Print at home ticket(s) attached and/or order acknowledgements for souvenir and audio guide purchases attached as an Adobe PDF. Customers must print these tickets and bring them on their visit. The General Admission ticket gives entry into the specified attraction.

The souvenir and audio guide print at home should be used for redemption at the designated collection point.

2) Ticket Machine Pick Up. Customers will receive an email confirmation acknowledging their order. A confirmation number will be quoted and customers must use this when collecting tickets and/or collecting a proof of purchase ticket (for souvenir and audio guides) from the ticket machines. Order acknowledgements are sent to the email address provided at registration once payment has been confirmed.

Mobile Delivery Method
Customers will receive an email confirmation and SMS text message acknowledging their order. A confirmation number will be quoted and customers must use this when collecting tickets and/or collecting a proof of purchase ticket (for souvenir and audio guides) from the ticket machines. Order acknowledgements are sent to the email address provided at registration once payment has been confirmed.

If you forget your Print At Home ticket or have problems collecting tickets from our ticket machines, you must bring along proof of identity to allow our admissions staff to trace your order.

Description of Products
We will take all reasonable care to ensure that all details, descriptions and prices of Products appearing on the Website are correct at the time when the relevant information was entered onto the system. Although we aim to keep the Website as up to date as possible, the information including Product descriptions appearing on this Website at a particular time may not always reflect the position exactly at the moment you place an order.

Any description given is for information only and does not constitute a sale by description. No warranty (express or implied) is given concerning the quality, condition or suitability for any purpose of any Products purchased.

If a product is priced inaccurately on our site due to system or typographical errors, we reserve the right to correct any and all errors when they do occur and not to honour inaccurate or erroneous prices. Our prices are also subject to change without notice.

Refunds
Tickets are non-refundable. No refunds due to weather conditions, length of queues or waiting times. Audio guides are subject to refund in the event of closure of the castle which prevents access to the audio guide pick up. To cancel orders of audio and souvenir guides purchased, please see ‘How to Cancel Your Order’.

Refunds may be available in special circumstances and will be made at the sole discretion of Historic Scotland.

Intellectual Property and Right to Use
You acknowledge and agree that all copyright, trademarks and all other intellectual property rights in all material or content supplied as part of the Website shall remain at all times vested in us or our licensors. You are permitted to use this material only as expressly authorised by us or our licensors.

You acknowledge and agree that the material and content contained within the Website is made available for your personal non-commercial use only and that you may (if necessary to make a Purchase) download such material and content onto only one computer hard drive for such purpose. Any other use of the material and content of the Website is strictly prohibited.

You agree not to (and agree not to assist or facilitate any third party to) copy, reproduce, transmit, publish, display, distribute, commercially exploit or create derivative works of such material and content.

Assignation
You may not assign or otherwise transfer any of your rights under these Conditions.

Indemnity
You agree fully to indemnify, defend and hold us, and our officers, directors, employees, agents and suppliers, harmless immediately on demand, from and against all claims, liability, damages, losses, costs and expenses, including reasonable legal fees, arising out of any breach of the Conditions by you or any other liabilities arising out of your use of this Website, or the use by any other person accessing the Website using your details and/or your Personal Information.

Our rights
We reserve the right to:

  • modify or withdraw, temporarily or permanently, this Website (or any part thereof) with or without notice to you and you confirm that we shall not be liable to you or any third party for any modification to or withdrawal of the Website;
  • change the Conditions from time to time, and your continued use of the Website (or any part thereof) following such change shall be deemed to be your acceptance of such change. It is your responsibility to check regularly to determine whether the Conditions have been changed. If you do not agree to any change to the Conditions then you must immediately stop using the Website;
  • withdraw any Products from this Website at any time and/or remove or edit any materials or content on this Website.

We may refuse to process a transaction for any reason or refuse service to anyone at any time at our sole discretion. We will not be liable to you or any third party by reason of our withdrawing any Product from this Website whether or not that Product has been sold; removing or editing any materials or content on the Website; refusing to process a transaction; or unwinding or suspending any transaction after processing has begun.

Historic Scotland management also reserves the right to refuse admission to any ticket holder and, in the interest of the public and for safety reasons, we also reserve the right to ask guests to leave at any time.

Limitation of Liability
While we will use reasonable endeavours to verify the accuracy of any information we place on the Website, the Website is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis without any representation or endorsement and we make no warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, in relation to the Website, or any transaction that may be conducted on or through it including but not limited to, implied warranties of non-infringement, compatibility, security, accuracy, conditions of completeness, or any implied warranty arising from course of dealing or usage or trade.

We make no warranty that the Website will meet your requirements or will be uninterrupted, timely or error-free, that defects will be corrected, or that the site or the server that makes it available are free of viruses or bugs or represents the full functionality, accuracy, reliability of the Website. We will not be responsible or liable to you for any loss of content or material uploaded or transmitted through the Website.

We will not be liable, in contract or delict (except in the case of fraudulent or negligent misrepresentations) or otherwise out of or in connection with the Conditions for:

  • any economic losses (including without limitation loss of revenues, profits, contracts, business or anticipated
  • savings); or any loss of goodwill or reputation; or any special or indirect losses, suffered or incurred by that party arising out of or in connection with the provisions of any matter under the Conditions.
  • Nothing in the Conditions shall exclude or limit our liability for death or personal injury resulting from our negligence or that of our servants, agents or employees.
  • Nothing in the Conditions shall limit or exclude our liability in respect of any fraudulent or negligent misrepresentation whether or not such has become a term of the Conditions.

We shall not be responsible for any breach of these Conditions caused by circumstances beyond our control. The provision of this Website does not include provision of computer or other necessary equipment to access the Website. To access it you will need an Internet connection and appropriate telecommunication links. For the avoidance of doubt, we shall not be liable for any telephone or other costs that you may incur.

Severance
If any part of the Conditions shall be deemed unlawful, void or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed to be severable from the Conditions and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any of the remaining provisions of the Conditions.

Waiver
If you breach these Conditions and we ignore this, we will be entitled to use our rights and remedies at a later date or in any subsequent situation where you breach the Conditions.

Entire agreement
The Conditions in force at the date of despatch of your Product govern our relationship with you. You confirm that, in accepting the Conditions, you have not relied on any representation save insofar as the same has expressly been made a term of these Conditions and you agree that you shall have no remedy in respect of any representation.

Law
The Conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Scotland and you irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Scottish courts.

Definitions
In these terms and conditions, unless the context otherwise requires, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings:

- “Conditions" means these terms and conditions;
- "Personal Information" means the details provided by you on registration;
- "Product" means a Product displayed for sale on the Website;
- "Users" means the Users of the Website collectively;
- "we/us" means Historic Scotland acting on behalf of the Scottish Ministers;
- "Website" means all Historic Scotland websites including the Edinburgh Castle website, Stirling Castle website, mobile websites and our webstore or any subsequent URL that may replace them;
- "you" means a User of this Website and, where applicable, the party purchasing the Product.

Contact Us
If Users have any questions or suggestions regarding our Terms & Conditions, please contact us at:

Phone: 0131 668 8081
Email: hs.ticketing@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
Address: The eCommerce Team, Historic Scotland, Longmore House, Salisbury Place, Edinburgh, EH9 1SH
Website:  www.historic-scotland.gov.uk

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Crown Copyright


Re-Using Crown Copyright Material
You may use and re-use the information featured on this website (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. We encourage users to establish hypertext links to this website.

Any enquiries regarding the use and re-use of this information resource should be sent to hs.website@scotland.gsi.gov.uk.

Re-Using Third Party Material
Any material on this site which is identified as the copyright of a third party is not covered by Crown copyright. This is the case with some photographs. Authorisation to reproduce such material must be obtained from the copyright holders concerned. The copyright status of items can be checked in advance of use by contacting hs.website@scotland.gsi.gov.uk.

Linking to the Historic ScotlandWebsite
Historic Scotland encourages users to establish links to the site. You don't have to ask for permission to do this.

Images, Photography and Video
Images and photographs on this site are subject to Crown copyright protection unless otherwise indicated (see www.historicscotlandimages.gov.uk for full terms & conditions on the reproduction of our images). You may re-use Crown copyright images subject to the conditions stated above. Images and videos on Historic Scotland’s Flickr site and Historic Scotland’s You Tube channel are subject to the licence restrictions shown on those sites, but are normally available to be re-used with attribution for non-commercial purposes only.

Further Information
For further information on Crown copyright policy and licensing arrangements, see the guidance featured on OPSI's website.

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