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Protecting the health of your family and ours

Update as of 25 April 2022

Relaxation of Covid Restrictions in Scotland

In line with Government guidelines, it is no longer mandatory by law to wear a face mask indoors in Scotland, including in hospitality and retail, therefore you will no longer be required to wear a face-covering within any of our premises unless you choose to do so. The wearing of face coverings in Scotland is now a personal choice.  This means that it is the individual's decision as to whether they do or do not wish to wear a face covering and as such, some of our colleagues may still be wearing a face covering when you visit, stay or shop. Any guests, visitors or shoppers, who require a colleague to remove their face-covering, in order to support communication (such as lip-reading), please let us know and we will ensure that a colleague is available to assist you.

Previous updates

Update as of 2nd December 2021

Face Coverings

In line with Government guidelines, it is mandatory to wear a face mask indoors in Scotland, in all public premises, including hospitality and retail and therefore we continue to ask you to ensure you do wear a face-covering whilst in public areas of our hotels, (including stairwells) and in our retail shops and cafes.  

The Famous Blacksmiths Shop Museum

To continue to support our wedding couples with social distancing, our Famous Blacksmiths Shop Museum remains closed to visitors, while weddings are taking place. Please see the notice board, outside of the Famous Blacksmiths Shop on the day for more information regarding opening times. However, you can visit our mini-exhibition to find out more about the secrets and history of Gretna Green, free of charge, in our Blacksmiths Foodcourt & Bar. Simply ask one of our team for details.

Drinking and Dining

As of the 8th of November, we are now accepting non-resident guests for drinking and dining in our hotel bars and restaurants, however, all tables must be pre-booked, no later than 48 hours in advance of arrival. Last-minute bookings and walk-ins cannot be accommodated.

You can pre-book

• Smiths here: https://r1.dotdigital-pages.com/p/4QQ3-3ZP/smiths-book-a-table
• Gretna Hall here: https://r1.dotdigital-pages.com/p/4QQ3-3ZV/book-a-table-at-gretna-hall

Weddings

• We would ask all wedding couples and their guests to check the most recent restrictions in place prior to travelling https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-small-marriages-and-civil-partnership-registrations/pages/attendance/
• Following Scottish Government advice from 30th November 2021, we are further advising (and asking for your support with your wedding party) to complete a lateral flow test to support in keeping everyone safe from Covid within 48 hours prior to arriving.  

Hotel Guests

• We would ask all hotel guests with upcoming bookings to check the most recent restrictions in place prior to travelling: https://www.gov.scot/coronavirus-covid-19/. This is particularly important if you are travelling to Scotland, from outside of the UK.
• Following Scottish Government advice from 30th November 2021, we are further advising guests to complete a lateral flow test to support in keeping everyone safe from Covid within 48 hours prior to arriving.  

Retail Shops

Face coverings remain mandatory in retail shops across Scotland and we, therefore, ask that you ensure you have a suitable face covering before entering our retail and dining premises. If you are exempt, we ask that you please wear an exemption lanyard/badge if possible. If you do not have a visible exemption, our team may ask you to put on a face covering (as is required by Government), so please be aware of this prior to visiting. We appreciate your support with this.

We thank you for your continued support, throughout these challenging months and wish you a safe journey and enjoyable experience at Gretna Green.

The Gretna Green Team

Update as of 28th July 2021

To support social distancing, while wedding ceremonies are taking place, our Famous Blacksmiths Shop Museum will be closed to visitors. Please see the notice board outside of the Famous Blacksmiths Shop Museum, on the day for more information regarding opening times. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

We would also like to advise visitors, that our Courtship Maze is currently closed for maintenance. Further details of when the maze will re-open will be issued in due course.

Our hotel restaurants remain closed to non-residents until further notice.

Update as of 14th July 2021

As of Monday 19th July, Gretna Green will move, along with the rest of Scotland, to ScotGov Level 0.  Please find an update below on what this means for weddings and hospitality across our venues.

Please note, that the following applies to all Gretna Green hospitality and wedding venues:

From the 19th July:

• INDOORS - Our bars & restaurants are operating until 23:00, with the sale of alcohol, FOLLOWING THE 8/3 RULE

• OUTDOORS - Our bars & restaurants are operating until 23:00, with the sale of alcohol, FOLLOWING THE 15/15 RULE

• WEDDINGS – Wedding services are operating until 23:00, with the sale of alcohol, FOLLOWING THE 8/3 RULE

• RESIDENTS MAY RETIRE TO THEIR OWN ROOMS, however, guests MUST NOT socialise in rooms other than their own. ROOM SERVICE for food and drinks is available by contacting
  RECEPTION – DIAL ‘0’.

Please note, that FACE COVERING REMAIN MANDATORY indoors in Scotland, for all guests, when not seated to drink or dine, and we continue to operate as table service only.

• under 12s do not count towards the total number of people or households meeting outside but count towards the household numbers indoors (please note that from 19 July, under 12s do not count towards the total number of people meeting outside or indoors)
• from 19 July, you will not need to physically distance outside within your social grouping of up to 15 people, but you do need to continue to maintain at least 1 metre from all others outside
• from 19 July you need to maintain at least 1m distance from other households in all indoor public settings
• The maximum number of people you can meet outdoors in a restaurant, café, pub or bar is 15 which can be from up to 15 separate households. 
• Table service and the wearing of face-coverings (unless exempt) when not seated by all customers is mandatory in all hospitality venues. When meeting people from more than one other household, you should think beforehand about what size of table you will need to keep physically distanced between members of your group. The venue you are visiting should be able to advise you of booking options.
• You will be asked by the venue to provide your contact details (for each person) for Test and Protect purposes. This information is retained for 21 days with a view to sharing it with Test and Protect Teams if required. 
• Physical distancing and good hand hygiene remain the most effective measures in reducing the transmission of COVID-19. Therefore, distancing requirements need to be maintained, where reasonably practicable, at all times, including when waiting to enter premises and when seated. 

Table Service

Table service for both food and beverage operations will continue to be required in all hospitality premises – this is already the case under statutory guidance but is however now a regulatory legal requirement.

Update as of 17^th May 2021

Here at Gretna Green, we can't wait to welcome back a little more normality. From Monday 17 May 2021, all of Scotland will move to level 2 of the strategic framework, excluding the Islands who are expected to move to Level 1. Here is what this will mean for our hotels and visitor attraction:

Hospitality Curfew
 It is expected that from Monday 7th June 2021 we will move to level 1, followed by level 0 on the 28th June, though this is subject to assessment of the data at the time of review and may change. For hospitality, the rules within the levels are (socialising rules for public places apply):

Level 2

• Outdoors: alcohol permitted closed 22:30 (maximum of 8 people from 8 households
  outdoors)
• Indoors: alcohol permitted – 2-hour time slots - closed 22:30 (maximum of 6 people from 3
  households indoors)

Table Service
Table service for both food and beverage operations will continue to be required in all hospitality premises - this is already the case under statutory guidance but is, however, now a regulatory legal requirement. There is no requirement for food to be ordered to purchase an alcoholic drink.

Bedrooms
Room service is exempt from additional alcohol licensing rules. A bedroom should be occupied by members of only one household (or extended household).

Update as of 8^th April 2021

Here at Gretna Green, we are incredibly excited to announce the reopening of the Famous Blacksmiths Shop Attraction and Old Toll Bar Café from the 26^th April 2021.

In-line with Scottish Government guidelines, we have gone above and beyond, to ensure that all the important covid safety measures have been put in place, ahead of reopening.  As you know, the safety of our visitors and our team has consistently been our top priority and will remain this way from here on out.

Here are some of the measures we have put in place to ensure the protection of you and our team members at the Famous Blacksmiths Shop Attractions and the Old Toll Bar:

• Face-coverings remain mandatory (as per the governments guidelines) in all public places, including toilets, shops, restaurants whilst not seated to eat or drink and within the museum.
• New, spacious shopping and seating layouts to allow for social distancing while browsing and dining.
• Regular hand-sanitising stations throughout the attraction and in dining areas.
• Perspex screens on counter tops.
• One-way systems with dedicated entrance and exit points
• Contactless payments encouraged throughout (but not mandatory).

Areas open from the 26^th April 2021

In order to ensure that we are offering our visitors the best possible experience, whilst balancing everyone’s safety, we will be reopening our business in stages. Therefore, please find a list below of what you can enjoy, from the 26^th April:

Gretna Green Since 1754   9am – 5pm
Selling: Designer brand fashion and accessories, children’s toys, homeware, kilt and clan, gifts and food & drink.
Safety: Redesigned layouts for social distancing while shopping, hand sanitising stations at the entrance and exit, one-way system in place, independent entrance and exit, and Perspex screens on counters.

NEW Gretna Green Since 1754 In-Store Takeaway   9am – 5pm
Selling: Sandwiches, pies, cakes, hot drinks, soft drinks and alcohol.
Safety: A new takeaway area for 2021 to give our visitors more options and reducing queuing.

Wee Big Shop   9am – 5pm
Selling: Souvenirs, gifts, travel essentials and children’s toys.
Safety: Redesigned layouts for social distancing while shopping, hand sanitising stations at the entrance and exit, one way system in place and Perspex screens on counters.

Wee Big Shop In-Store Takeaway   9am – 5pm
Selling: Sandwiches, pies, cakes, hot drinks, soft drinks and alcohol.
Safety: Redesigned layout for social distancing, one way system in place and Perspex screens on counters.

LOVE Conservatory   9am – 5pm
Selling: Hot & cold snacks, cakes, hot drinks, soft drinks and alcohol.
Safety: Redesigned layouts for social distancing while ordering and dining, hand sanitising stations at the entrance and exit, one way system in place and Perspex screens on counters.
Indoor Seating: No more than 4 people from 2 separate households per table. No alcohol.
Outdoor Seating: No more than 6 adults from 3 separate households or six, 12-17 year-olds from 6 households per table. Alcohol permitted outdoors only in designated areas. Please ask a team member for more information. Track and trace information will be taken for all visitors choosing to eat or drink indoors, to support the government Test and Protect service.

The Old Toll Bar   9:30am – 4pm
Selling: Hot & cold snacks, meals, cakes, hot drinks, soft drinks and alcohol.
Safety: Redesigned layouts for social distancing while ordering and dining, hand sanitising stations at the entrance and exit, one way system in place and Perspex screens on counters.
Indoor Seating: No more than 4 people from 2 separate households per table. No alcohol.
Outdoor Seating: No more than 6 adults from 3 separate households or six, 12-17 year-olds from 6 households per table. Alcohol permitted outdoors only in designated areas. Please ask a team member for more information. Track and trace information will be taken for all visitors choosing to eat or drink indoors, to support the government Test and Protect service. For guaranteed indoor seating, we recommend advance booking. Please call 01461 338441 to reserve a table.

Experience Days

Our Anvil Handfastings or Whisky & Gin Tasting Experiences will be permitted from the 17^th May 2021 and we welcome any advance bookings for these. View all of our Scottish experience days here and get in touch with our friendly team now to pre-book.

Hotels

Our Smiths at Gretna Green and Gretna Hall hotels are currently open only for wedding parties, their guests and essential workers (in-line with strict government legislation), and we are not currently accepting non-residents for drinking and dining.

However, we are pleased to announce that leisure bookings can now be made for stays from the 1^st July 2021 onwards, (subject to availability).

From the 26^th April 2021, wedding receptions of up to 50 guests (including the bridal couple) can take place at Smiths and Gretna Hall, however social distancing and hospitality rules still apply; including no alcohol indoors. Room service, including alcohol, is available as normal.

Your comfort and security is our top concern and we look forward to seeing you at Smiths or Gretna Hall as soon as we can; for a safe staycation.

We continue to employ the same, enhanced safety measures we promised in 2020, including:

• Spacious seating layouts to allow for social distancing while dining.
• Table-service only for drinking and dining.
• Track and trace information will be taken for all guests to support the government Test and Protect service.
• Regular hand-sanitising stations throughout public areas and in dining areas.
• Perspex screens on counter tops.
• One-way systems.
• Contactless payments are encouraged throughout (but not mandatory).
• Contact-free check-out
• Disposable menus and digital menu options
• Regular, thorough cleaning throughout the premises

We truly look forward to welcoming everyone back to Gretna Green.

Find out how to find us, and plan your next visit from the 26^th April.

Take care and see you soon! With love from the Gretna Green Team

Update as of 6th January 2021

Following the latest Scottish Government update on Monday 4^th January, regarding the Covid-19 Pandemic, please find below an update from us.

As you know, the safety of our colleagues, visitors and wedding couples has always been of the utmost importance to us; throughout the entirety of this pandemic.

Which is why, with a tremendously heavy heart, we are now announcing further temporary closures within our business. Following the recent, temporary closure of our Famous Blacksmiths Shop Retail and Visitor Attraction, we are now announcing the temporary closure of Smiths and Gretna Hall hotels, and the postponement of all weddings which were due to take place in the month of January. 

While Scottish Government guidelines do allow us to continue to both conduct weddings and provide accommodation for wedding couples and their guests - albeit with new, reduced numbers - we feel a strong social responsibility to protect our colleagues, customers and our community.

Our wedding team are working with all our couples, individually, to move their weddings to a safer date in the future and offering our full support throughout this difficult situation and we would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their kind messages, comments and understanding over the past 9 months.

We look forward to welcoming back all our visitors, wedding couples and their guests when it is safe to do so.  In the meantime, while our retail shops are closed, you can still shop with us online at www.gretnagreen.com/shopping.

Stay safe and take care, with love from the Gretna Green Team.

Updated as of 23rd December 2020

Following the ScotGov announcement on Saturday 19^th December, regarding the move to Level 4 Covid-19 restrictions, across mainland Scotland, please find the following update to our Covid-19 Policy; from the 26^th December.

Throughout this pandemic, we have always worked to ensure that we implement and follow all of the guidelines set out by Government. However, on this occasion, we have made the decision, for the safety of both our guests and colleagues, to take some additional precautions.

Please find below an update on the latest Scottish Government Covid-19 policies

KEY FACTS - As of 00:01 am Boxing Day (26^th December 2020)

• As per the Scottish exemption regulations, wedding ceremonies can continue to take place with up to 20 guests, including the Bridal Couple, however, in certain circumstances we are reducing the numbers to below the Government guidelines, to increase guest and colleague safety
• Hotels may continue to provide accommodation and dining to essential customers including anyone who requires accommodation to attend a marriage ceremony or civil partnership registration (view here)
• Hotels and other accommodation providers can still serve food and non-alcoholic drinks to essential guests staying in their premises up to 22:00. Room service, including alcohol, is allowed as normal
• While wedding ‘receptions’ cannot take place in Level 4, as confirmed to us by the Scottish Tourism Alliance, hotels may continue to provide food and soft drinks to wedding couples and guests both before and after their wedding, provided that they are hotel residents. However, this must not take place in a private function room and must continue to adhere to household bubble social distancing rules as before.
• Guests travelling to Gretna Green to attend a wedding are exempt from the Mainland Scottish and Cross-border travel bans as per the Coronavirus (COVID-19): Guidance on Travel and Transport, Exemption:
  • in Level 4 to attend a marriage ceremony or registration of a civil partnership (view here)
• Non-resident drinking and dining is not allowed in all hospitality settings in Level 4 and as such, any existing, non-resident bookings for events, such as our New Year’s Day brunch, have been cancelled.
• All non-essential retail outlets and tourism attractions must close in Level 4, and therefore the Famous Blacksmiths Shop site and Canny Scot Shop will close on Christmas Eve to all museum visitors and shoppers, re-opening only when it is safe to do so, in line with further ScotGov updates.
• Our Online Shopping facilities will continue to operate. You can shop Gretna Green here: gretnagreen.com/shopping

Please rest assured that we here at Gretna Green are going above and beyond all of the enforceable and recommended guidelines, to ensure the continued safety of both our guests and colleagues; whilst also working hard to continue to support our Bridal Couples in celebrating this important milestone in their lives.  

The Gretna Green Team

Update as of 3rd November 2020

Please note, that until 3rd December 2020, we will only be accepting bookings for dining and drinking in our suite of hotels from hotel residents. Our hotel restaurants and bars will be closed to non-residents during this time. You can, however, continue to use our online form to book a table for dining and drinking in December and to book a table if you are staying with us as a hotel guest.

Update as of 9th October 2020

In-line with the recent ScotGov updates (07/10/2020 and (22/09/2020), all hospitality premises in Scotland must close at 22:00. Between 09/10/2020 and 25/10/2020 this curfew is further extended to the following:

• Non-residents are welcome for food and non-alcoholic drinks, indoors daily, from 06:00 to 18:00. Pre-booking is essential and we are unable to accept reservations after 16:30 to allow for this curfew.
• Resident guests are welcome for food and non-alcoholic drinks, indoors daily, from 06:00 to 22:00. Pre-booking is essential and we are unable to accept reservations after 20:45 to allow for this curfew.
• Alcoholic beverages can only be served outdoors, in designated areas, by licensed premises between 06:00 and 22:00 daily.
• Room service is exempt from this curfew and both food and alcoholic drinks can continue to be ordered from your in-room telephone as per usual.
• Wedding guests attending a pre-booked function, (including non-residents) may continue to purchase and consume alcoholic drinks indoors until 22:00.
• Last orders for food and drinks will be called at 21:30 hours and all resident guests must vacate all public areas by 22:00.

Please note that all hospitality settings must continue to operate Table Service Only service and that face-coverings are mandatory in all indoor settings, (including retail, hospitality, public toilets, museums and dining) unless seated at a table to eat or drink.

Update as of 10th September 2020

In-line with the latest ScotGov update (10/09/2020), we are pleased to announce that weddings in Scotland will now follow the 20/20 rule of 20 people at the ceremony and 20 people at the reception.

However, our restaurants and bars (indoors and outdoors) are now only able to seat a maximum of 6 adults (13 and over) to a table from a maximum of 2 households. Children aged 12 and under are exempt from this restriction.  Pre-booking for drinking and dining is essential. Please see the links below for our booking enquiry forms. 

Please also note that all guests are now required, by law, to wear a face-covering in hospitality settings when not at your table. Face coverings will be available to purchase in all of our hospitality areas.

Update as of 17 July 2020

We are delighted to announce that we will be open again for Weddings from the 23^rd July following the guidelines set out by the Scottish Government on limited numbers. We will update the limited numbers at each stage, in line with the changes in regulations outlined by the Scottish Government and amend any requirements accordingly.

Our retail attraction is now open daily from 9 am to 5 pm to visitors for shopping, hot and cold Scottish food and drinks along with our toilets and facilities. Please remember that face coverings are mandatory in retail shops, as per Scottish Government regulations.

We are also very pleased to say, that we will be opening our hotels in a phased approach, starting with our flagship hotel, Smiths at Gretna Green which will open for residents only from the 23^rd July. We will open to non-residents from the 1^st August for pre-booked tables in our restaurant and bar. To pre-book in advance, please call us on 01461 337007 or email [email protected].

We are also pleased to announce in our phased re-opening of our hotels that Gretna Hall Historic Marriage House and Hotel will be open from the 25^th July for residents only until the 1^st August and as with Smiths, you can pre-book tables in our Restaurant, Lounge and Bar for non-resident drinking and dining by calling the hotel directly on 01461 338257 or by emailing [email protected].

To protect both our visitors and colleagues, we have put in place high-standards of COVID-secure measures, including social distancing, enhanced cleaning processes, hand-sanitising stations throughout our hotels, shops and restaurants and face-coverings for our colleagues in relevant areas.

Further updates, including the information regarding the opening of our third hotel, Greens at Gretna and Old Toll Bar café will be made in due course. Also, any couples due to marry in the coming months can continue to contact our wedding team using our exclusive Wedding Couples contact form, which you can access here.

We would like to take this opportunity to express how pleased we are to be able to welcome you all again, to Gretna Green and we hope to see you very soon!

The Gretna Green Team