VISITORS to Annan Museum trebled in the last year and were also up at the town’s pool.
Council officials have revealed that during 2022/23 there were 3984 visits to the museum and 536 in-person usages of its collection, including talks and events.
And it all added up to 4520 visits and usages in total.
They said: “This result was more than three times as high as the museum’s 2021/22 performance (which was 1431 visits and
usages) and 78.53 per cent of the 2019/20 year’s result of 5756 usages.
“This result bucked national trends, which saw attractions achieving only two-thirds of pre-covid attendances because of a slow build-back in visitor confidence and the impact of the cost-of-living crisis, which has made family days out less affordable.”
The success is being put down to the popularity of temporary special exhibitions created by the museum team, including ‘Washed Away’, which commemorated the town’s two footbridges lost to flood damage.
Meanwhile, Annan Pool also saw a rise in swimmers.
In total, 56,036 people used the pool last year and that was a 26.2 per cent rise on the previous year.
Members of the Annandale and Eskdale Area Committee were yesterday told by officials that: “Post covid growth in fitness
memberships and swimming lesson and the recommencement of curriculum swimming programmes have contributed to the increase in attendances.”
