For some reason we’re not in the top 20 this year …. but hey ho, there’s still nowhere quite like it. Thousands of visitors come to visit Edinburgh, Glencoe, Skye…. and Loch Ness (Nessie) every year. And Spiderman: Brand New Day, The Odyssey, World War Z, The Batman and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny have all filmed here in recent years.
Yet, we can take it for granted that our beautiful locations, listed buildings and monuments will always be there… something that can never be fully guaranteed. Political and economic tides change and forces of nature can have devastating effects as we have seen with the floods in Nepal, earthquakes in Venezuela, the war in Ukraine, the destruction of Palmyra in Syria, the fires at the National Museum of Brazil, Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris and, more closer to home, the Mackintosh building fire at the Glasgow School of Art, Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s masterwork. Or more recently again, the Union Street fire in Glasgow (pictured above) which removed a whole corner of Glasgow’s city centre that had been there since 1851.
There is a grief that comes from these lost buildings, their histories and what they had come to represent & symbolise. Recognising that there can be a profound regret and sadness at the cultural losses and a significant connection with the past means we can act today to look around us and appreciate the cultural heritage all around us. Many of us have access to a camera or camera phone and may even walk past these buildings every day. All it takes is looking up, taking a snap and uploading it in seconds and you’ve done something amazing to help document our cultural heritage for all time.
That’s why it’s so important that we take the opportunity to document our cultural heritage now for future generations before it is too late. Share your high quality pics of listed buildings and monuments to Wikimedia Commons and help preserve our cultural heritage online. After days out, weekend breaks and holidays at home & abroad, there will be gigabytes of pics taken in recent months and years. These could remain on your memory card or be shared to Commons and help illustrate Wikipedia for the benefit of all.
You just take a quick look at the map, take a pic and upload. It takes seconds and is the easiest way to take part in this year’s competition.
If each one of us took just 1 pic, we’d have this sewn up in a few short weeks. Which is when Wiki Loves Monuments closes – end of 30 September 2026. But if you can do more then great.
#ScotWiki #WikiLovesMonuments
ps. If nothing else, let’s give our counterparts in Ireland, England and Wales a run for their money in terms of how many images we can upload. A little friendly rivalry never hurts, right?
Let’s smash it again this September! Let’s see if we can get pics from ALL over Scotland this year. Everyone is welcome to take part and every picture helps.
Don’t know where to begin? Why not join our Scotland’s Lighthouses event on Wed 23rd September held at the grand National Records of Scotland building overlooking the whole of North Bridge in Edinburgh.
Email ewan.mcandrew@ed.ac.uk if you want to know more.
Glenfinnan Viaduct at Loch Shiel won 2nd place in UK prizes, let’s see if we can win first place this year! Pic by Paul Stümke CC BY-SA 4.0from Wikimedia Commons
Wiki Loves Monuments is an international photo competition which takes part throughout the month of September every year, and is supported by the nonprofit Wikimedia Foundation.
The aim is to crowdsource as many high quality, openly licensed photos as possible of scheduled monuments and listed buildings throughout the world. Why? Because documenting our cultural heritage today is so important.
In the UK, there will be prizes for the best photos of a site in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales as well as prizes for the best UK photos overall. The latter will then be put forward for international prizes and there are some phenomenal pics from last year’s competition worldwide like this one of St Andrew’s Church (1747 — 1762) at dawn, Kyiv, Ukraine by Maksym Popelnyukh:
St Andrew’s Church (1747 — 1762) at dawn, Kyiv, Ukraine by Maksym Popelnyukh
Why take part?
Wikimedia Commons is a free repository of photographs, audio and video content that anyone can use, re-use or distribute. Images on Commons can also be used to illustrate Wikipedia articles – which can then be seen by a global audience. But not all of our rich heritage is represented – there are a number of gaps when it comes to the coverage of Scotland – and this year, we’d like to do what we can to change that. Especially when this is something fun and impactful we can all do.
Is your organisation or group looking for activities? Wiki Loves Monuments can be a great activity for local social or volunteer groups, not just those those concerned with photography or history. Why not organise a heritage walk to take pictures of listed buildings in the local area, and visit the local museum or library at the same time?
Collage of Wiki Loves Monuments pics by Stinglehammer, CC-BY-SA 4.0
How do you take part?
Register for an accounton Wikimedia Commons. (Individuals only, no organisational accounts.) NB: If you already have a Wikipedia account, no need to register for a new account on Wikimedia Commons, you can use the same account for Wikimedia Commons. To enter the competition you must make sure that your account has a valid email address and that your email is activated.
In Scotland, the subjects eligible to be entered in Wiki Loves Monuments are those designated by Historic Environment Scotland references for Listed Buildings and Scheduled Monuments. If you’re not sure what buildings or monuments are classed as listed, don’t worry! We’ve got a great tool for you to use to upload your photos which includes an interactive map.
Green pins on the map indicate monuments which already have a photo on Wikimedia Commons, whereas red pins indicate where they are missing. Select your town or city then wander around your local area and look for buildings or monuments with red pins. You can take photos on smartphones, tablets or cameras and then upload them by selecting the appropriate pin on the map and clicking upload. Make sure that you are logged into your Wikimedia Commons account and follow the basic instructions. Every photo uploaded via the interactive map will be entered into the Wiki Loves Monuments.
You can take more than one photo of a building or monument. Preferably one should be a photo of the building or monument as a whole, but also use your photographic flair to add photos of key features, inside views or behind the scenes features that the public doesn’t normally get to see. Doors Open Day runs throughout September and is a great opportunity to organise a photography tour of a building or a tour of the local listed monuments in your town.
I’ve had the pleasure of visiting and snapping pictures of the Glasgow City Chambers, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Anchor Line bar, Garnethill Synagogue and the Arlington Baths among many other locations as part of Glasgow Doors Open Days.
Other tips: Not sure that your photo skills are up to the competition? Don’t worry about it, the important thing is to take part. The more photos we can crowdsource, the more we can improve the coverage of listed buildings and monuments in Scotland, which is our ultimate goal. You can also check the Wiki Loves Monuments blog for tips on how to best take architectural photos.
How can you take part?
Do you work near a listed building? Why not go for a walk before, during or after work? Or visit places for Doors Open Days or beyond Or organise a heritage tour or walking tour yourself! Justadd a picture!
If you do take part, please post on social media about it! @WikiLovesUK #ScotWiki #WLM #WLMUK
Join us for an expert-led guided tour of the exhibition ‘For the Safety of All: Scotland’s Lighthouses’ followed by a fun and interactive Wikipedia edit-a-thon on Wed 23rd September.
Let’s improve coverage of Scottish lighthouses in a stunning, historical building of the National Records of Scotland and turn Wikipedia’s “red links” (pages that don’t YET exist) into well-researched, published articles! No prior knowledge or experience required.
All we need is 50-100 words+ and where you cite what you write and we can PUBLISH your work as a brand new page filling important knowledge gaps in our search results. Images all help too, some stunning lighthouse buildings and lonely Scottish promontories are not well illustrated at all online.
We can change that. #WeCanEdit
What to expect?
This in-person event will begin at the lobby of the General Register House, where the archivists, Jessica Evershed and Jocelyn Grant will take you on a guided tour of the exhibition. ‘For the Safety of All’ features enticing histories of the Bell Rock Lighthouse and the mystery of the Flannan Isles lighthouse keepers’ disappearance. Then visitors will get a unique change to have a closer look at the historical records unavailable to the public.
Afterwards, participants will have a chance do do their own research and improve the information gaps on Wikipedia. You will learn how to edit Wikipedia pages, then write and publish your very own article with guidance and support from us.
You’ll learn a new digital skill and meet like-minded people, who are all passionate about the unique legacy of Scottish engineering. Make this your day to make a difference!
Agenda
1pm – 1:30pm: Guided tour of the exhibition and the records display
1:30pm – 2pm: Wikipedia training from Anna Judelson.
2pm – 2:15pm: Tea and Coffee break
2:15 pm – 3:15pm: Research and Editing.
3:15 pm – 3:30pm: Publishing your work and the event closing
What to bring?
Please bring your own laptop! The rest is sorted.
Have a look at the event page to see if there are pages you would like to help edit/create and if you fancy learning more about Wikipedia ahead of time then you can view the Wiki Basics site.
Email ewan.mcandrew@ed.ac.uk if you have any questions.
Please note:
The Doors Open Day programme for 2026 is live. Doors Open Days is Scotland’s largest free festival that celebrates places and stories, new and old. Every September you can explore hundreds of fascinating buildings across Scotland for free. Some open up once a year, some just once a lifetime.
The Edinburgh Award for Digital Volunteering with Wikipedia is OPEN too if you are a student wishing to register for a University of Edinburgh accredited 55-80hr volunteering programme to complement (or be a holiday from) your studies and where fascinatingly rich topics like Scotland’s Lighthouses or our other recent event with the National Library of Scotland on the History of the Edinburgh Fringe could be better documented, recorded and illustrated on Wikipedia from 21 October 2026 to 31 march 2027. If you are a lecturer with an idea (or a reading list) or a curator/archivist/librarian or indeed anyone with a project idea that could make for a rich student experience and plug some important histories and information gaps online then do get in touch.
