Staff at a north-east castle are looking to dance their way into the record books to mark a major milestone.
This September, Castle Fraser, in Sauchen, will have been open to the public for 40 years.
And to mark the anniversary, the castle will host a world record attempt at the largest ever Strip the Willow, the popular ceilidh dance.
The record is currently held by Edinburgh, where 1,914 people took part in the traditional dance on Princes Street, as part of the annual Hogmanay celebrations.
And while that effort has been enshrined in the Guinness Book of Records ever since, the castle’s property manager is confident the north-east can knock the capital off its pedestal.
Paula Swan said: “I’m from Edinburgh and proud of that, but Aberdeenshire is my home and it will be interesting if we manage to do it.
“We wanted to mark the anniversary by doing something memorable and what better way to do it than dancing outside the castle to Scottish music with the local community.
“We’re in the heart of the north-east here and we have got a beautiful castle and lots of reasons for people to come to the area.”
Organisers are hoping they can manage to secure about 2,000 dancers to take part in the barn dance.
They are also appealing for volunteers to assist on the day and any fitness instructors willing to spare their time to help the participants warm up.
Their efforts will then be filmed and sent off to the Guinness judges to consider the bid.
Mrs Swan added: “It’s going to be a very energetic dance and a lot of fun.
“This is a beautiful part of the world and this is a great way to highlight it so that people decide to come and see what is on offer.
“We will have registration open online soon enough so people can keep an eye out on our Facebook and Twitter pages.”
The dance takes place on Saturday, September 9.
Anyone interested in registering or volunteering should contact castlefraser@nts.org.uk
