Work starts on construction of Great Tapestry of Scotland visitor centre in Galashiels.

Work has begun on building the the new £6.7m Great Tapestry of Scotland visitor centre in the Scottish border town of Galashiels (Scottish Gaelic: An Geal Àth). The visitor centre is due to be completed by spring 2020 and will house the Great Tapestry of Scotland, made up of 160 hand stitched panels, depicting aspects of the history of Scotland from 8500 BC until its launch in 2013. Author, Alexander McCall Smith initiated the tapestry project, historian Alistair Moffat advised on the historical content,  illustrator Andrew Crummy was the artist and designer and over a thousand volunteers across Scotland hand stitched the panels to create the tapestry.

Once constructed, the new visitor centre at Galashiels will be the permanent home of the tapestry and it is anticipated it will bring more than 50,000 people to the town each year.