Edinburgh Castle sees visitor numbers fall from 10,000 to less than 150 a day
The popular Scottish tourist attraction usually sees 10,000 people a day, on Monday it had just 148 visitors through the door.
Edinburgh is currently in level three of Covid restrictions which means locals only can visit the castle.
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Hide AdHistoric Environment Scotland said given the current restrictions in place, a temporary drop in visitor numbers is expected.
It said visitor numbers averaged at almost three-quarters of capacity after it reopened in August.
However, there were just 475 visitors last Sunday, ahead of the new Covid protection levels in Scotland being brought in on the Monday.
An Historic Environment Scotland spokesman said: “Clearly, given the current situation across Scotland and the restrictions in place to halt further spread of Covid-19, we are likely to see a temporary drop in visitor numbers to usually hugely popular sites like Edinburgh Castle.
“Since reopening the Castle in August after the initial lockdown, visitor numbers have been averaging 72% of the site’s current capacity which was capped due to new health and safety measure we put in place. However, since restrictions have again tightened under the new tier system, clearly, as is the case with many other businesses and attractions, that is going to have an effect on visitor numbers.
“As the COVID pandemic continues, we will keep an eye on the situation and review matters accordingly.
"For now however, Edinburgh Castle remains open as we follow Scottish Government guidelines to ensure we protect our staff and visitors.”