A visit to Abbotsford

Visiting locations related to literature has been a phenomenon since the 18th century. The visit of a house, grave and monument of a writer or places and walking tours related to the content of his work, can be considered as literary tourism. During the centuries more and more locations opened their doors to the public and most of them can still be visited today. One of these literary places is Abbotsford, the house of writer and poet Sir Walter Scott, built in the beginning of the 19th century. Abbotsford as it stands today in the landscape of the Scottish Borders, combines architectural, historical, cultural and literary aspects. Since 1833, when Abbotsford opened its doors to the public, the house has been kept like Scott left it, showing his great collection of artefacts, books and unique interior. This research focussed on the visitors of Abbotsford and their experience. These aspects were researched using a combination of qualitative research on location; namely in-depth interviews and observations of the visitors. The experience of a literary place can be divided in three different phases, focussing on the motivation, experience and gained value afterwards. Besides a positive impression by all visitors, it is possible to conclude that the highlights of the visit aren’t limited to the house itself, in addition the idyllic setting and the new modern visitor centre are of influence on the overall experience. At second, the knowledge on Scott, his house and Scottish history, gained during the visit, is one of the positive aspects pointed out by the visitors. Not only did the visit change their perception on the life of Scott, it also awaked more interest in his work, visitors are encouraged to read of re-read the books of Scott. As last the most important result of this research is the influence of the level of knowledge of the work of Scott on the experience of Abbotsford. Based on these different levels, it is possible to divide the visitors of Abbotsford in three different groups. The first group consists of the visitors who haven’t read any of the books or can’t remember reading them. The visitors of the second group have read one or two books of Scott. The last group of visitors have read several works of Scott and can be described as enthusiasts or fans. It is possible to conclude that the level of knowledge of the visitors doesn’t have an effect on the quality of the experience but does influence the way the visitor experiences Abbotsford. Therefore it is important to focus on the division of the visitors when it comes to organizational aspects at Abbotsford and in the future, when new research on Visiting locations related to literature has been a phenomenon since the 18th century. The visit of a house, grave and monument of a writer or places and walking tours related to the content of his work, can be considered as literary tourism. During the centuries more and more locations opened their doors to the public and most of them can still be visited today. One of these literary places is Abbotsford, the house of writer and poet Sir Walter Scott, built in the beginning of the 19th century. Abbotsford as it stands today in the landscape of the Scottish Borders, combines architectural, historical, cultural and literary aspects. Since 1833, when Abbotsford opened its doors to the public, the house has been kept like Scott left it, showing his great collection of artefacts, books and unique interior. This research focussed on the visitors of Abbotsford and their experience. These aspects were researched using a combination of qualitative research on location; namely in-depth interviews and observations of the visitors. The experience of a literary place can be divided in three different phases, focussing on the motivation, experience and gained value afterwards. Besides a positive impression by all visitors, it is possible to conclude that the highlights of the visit aren’t limited to the house itself, in addition the idyllic setting and the new modern visitor centre are of influence on the overall experience. At second, the knowledge on Scott, his house and Scottish history, gained during the visit, is one of the positive aspects pointed out by the visitors. Not only did the visit change their perception on the life of Scott, it also awaked more interest in his work, visitors are encouraged to read of re-read the books of Scott. As last the most important result of this research is the influence of the level of knowledge of the work of Scott on the experience of Abbotsford. Based on these different levels, it is possible to divide the visitors of Abbotsford in three different groups. The first group consists of the visitors who haven’t read any of the books or can’t remember reading them. The visitors of the second group have read one or two books of Scott. The last group of visitors have read several works of Scott and can be described as enthusiasts or fans. It is possible to conclude that the level of knowledge of the visitors doesn’t have an effect on the quality of the experience but does influence the way the visitor experiences Abbotsford. Therefore it is important to focus on the division of the visitors when it comes to organizational aspects at Abbotsford and in the future, when new research on Visiting locations related to literature has been a phenomenon since the 18th century. The visit of a house, grave and monument of a writer or places and walking tours related to the content of his work, can be considered as literary tourism. During the centuries more and more locations opened their doors to the public and most of them can still be visited today. One of these literary places is Abbotsford, the house of writer and poet Sir Walter Scott, built in the beginning of the 19th century. Abbotsford as it stands today in the landscape of the Scottish Borders, combines architectural, historical, cultural and literary aspects. Since 1833, when Abbotsford opened its doors to the public, the house has been kept like Scott left it, showing his great collection of artefacts, books and unique interior. This research focussed on the visitors of Abbotsford and their experience. These aspects were researched using a combination of qualitative research on location; namely in-depth interviews and observations of the visitors. The experience of a literary place can be divided in three different phases, focussing on the motivation, experience and gained value afterwards. Besides a positive impression by all visitors, it is possible to conclude that the highlights of the visit aren’t limited to the house itself, in addition the idyllic setting and the new modern visitor centre are of influence on the overall experience. At second, the knowledge on Scott, his house and Scottish history, gained during the visit, is one of the positive aspects pointed out by the visitors. Not only did the visit change their perception on the life of Scott, it also awaked more interest in his work, visitors are encouraged to read of re-read the books of Scott. As last the most important result of this research is the influence of the level of knowledge of the work of Scott on the experience of Abbotsford. Based on these different levels, it is possible to divide the visitors of Abbotsford in three different groups. The first group consists of the visitors who haven’t read any of the books or can’t remember reading them. The visitors of the second group have read one or two books of Scott. The last group of visitors have read several works of Scott and can be described as enthusiasts or fans. It is possible to conclude that the level of knowledge of the visitors doesn’t have an effect on the quality of the experience but does influence the way the visitor experiences Abbotsford. Therefore it is important to focus on the division of the visitors when it comes to organizational aspects at Abbotsford and in the future, when new research on Visiting locations related to literature has been a phenomenon since the 18th century. The visit of a house, grave and monument of a writer or places and walking tours related to the content of his work, can be considered as literary tourism. During the centuries more and more locations opened their doors to the public and most of them can still be visited today. One of these literary places is Abbotsford, the house of writer and poet Sir Walter Scott, built in the beginning of the 19th century. Abbotsford as it stands today in the landscape of the Scottish Borders, combines architectural, historical, cultural and literary aspects. Since 1833, when Abbotsford opened its doors to the public, the house has been kept like Scott left it, showing his great collection of artefacts, books and unique interior. This research focussed on the visitors of Abbotsford and their experience. These aspects were researched using a combination of qualitative research on location; namely in-depth interviews and observations of the visitors. The experience of a literary place can be divided in three different phases, focussing on the motivation, experience and gained value afterwards. Besides a positive impression by all visitors, it is possible to conclude that the highlights of the visit aren’t limited to the house itself, in addition the idyllic setting and the new modern visitor centre are of influence on the overall experience. At second, the knowledge on Scott, his house and Scottish history, gained during the visit, is one of the positive aspects pointed out by the visitors. Not only did the visit change their perception on the life of Scott, it also awaked more interest in his work, visitors are encouraged to read of re-read the books of Scott. As last the most important result of this research is the influence of the level of knowledge of the work of Scott on the experience of Abbotsford. Based on these different levels, it is possible to divide the visitors of Abbotsford in three different groups. The first group consists of the visitors who haven’t read any of the books or can’t remember reading them. The visitors of the second group have read one or two books of Scott. The last group of visitors have read several works of Scott and can be described as enthusiasts or fans. It is possible to conclude that the level of knowledge of the visitors doesn’t have an effect on the quality of the experience but does influence the way the visitor experiences Abbotsford. Therefore it is important to focus on the division of the visitors when it comes to organizational aspects at Abbotsford and in the future, when new research on the literary tourist will be conducted.