Thousands Flock to Annual Dinosaur Event

Discover Lanark BID was delighted by the roaring success of Jurassic Lanark during the school summer holidays. The annual event, celebrating its sixth year, saw thousands of dinosaur hunters of all ages enjoying the prehistoric adventure.

Since the event began in 2021, Jurassic Lanark has been one of the biggest and most attended events in the calendar for Lanark town centre, featuring both Monster and Mini dinosaur trails. This year, organisers Discover Lanark added a third trail, the Explorer Trail, which took particpants outside the town centre to nearby attractions New Lanark World Heritage Site, the Falls of Clyde, Lanark Agricultural Centre and Langloch Farm.

Visitors to the Tolbooth could get hands on with their popular Dino Dig, uncovering a velociraptor skeleton in the sand, whilst a team of Jurassic Lanark Rangers provided additional weekend fun in Castlebank Park including the opportunity to meet ‘Fergus’ the TRex and baby puppet dinosaurs ‘Trixie’ and ‘Nibbles’.

A much photographed highlight was a recreation of the infamous toilet scene from the original Jurassic Park film, brought to terrifying reality by the team at Lanark Community Development Trust.

Antonia Pompa, Discover Lanark Manager said “Our Jurassic Lanark trails once again drew in many thousands of dinosaur hunters to the town. Over 93% of respondents to our visitor survey rated the event as ‘Very Good’ and seeing the smiles on the faces of so many children certainly made all the hard work organising and running the event worthwhile.”

“The event drew visitors from across the central belt and well beyond. With over 87% telling us that they spent money on something to eat and drink and over 62% spending in a shop or on souvenirs, the event continues to bring substantial benefits to the town’s retail and hospitality outlets.”

“Discover Lanark would like to thank everyone who visited and all the organisations and businesses who helped make Jurassic Lanark such a success. We look forward to staging the event again in 2027.”

Feedback from visitors has also been outstanding. One said on social media “It was absolutely brilliant again and was great watching all the families with their maps going about looking for them. Well done.” Another commented, “Another excellent display. Our 5th year doing it and it never fails to impress. So many others joining in with the fun as well.”