Visit Elvis’ Ancestral Homeland (Scotland!)

This winter is the perfect time to visit Scotland, just like The King of Rock and Roll himself, Elvis Presley. It is apt that Elvis’ visit to Scotland fifty years ago was the only time he set foot in the UK. Not only did he stop off in Glasgow Prestwick Airport while on duty with the US Army, his roots have also been traced to Lonmay in Aberdeenshire after Scottish Author Allan Morrison, from Greenock, said he had discovered that the musical icon’s ancestors lived in the small Aberdeenshire village in the 1700s.

While undoubtedly the singers’ spiritual home is that of Graceland, Memphis, VisitScotland is commemorating the special year by commissioning a take on the legend’s iconic white jumpsuit with a uniquely Scottish winter white kilt from 21st Century Kilts.

The King of Rock and Roll’s 75th birthday will be celebrated on 8 January 2010, and what a perfect time to book your trip to Elvis’ ancestral homeland of Scotland.

To celebrate Elvis’ 75th birthday and Scotland’s incredible connection to the King, VisitScotland has produced a list of must see winter white things to see and do Elvis could enjoy today:

· A visit to the maker of the specially designed white Elvis kilt, Howie Nicholsby of 21st Century Kilts, Thistle Street Edinburgh. Howie also designed a family tartan of golds and reds exclusively for Lisa Marie Presley on a visit to Scotland in 2007.
· Winter is an inviting time to discover the stunning white scenery of Scotland and what better way for an Elvis fan to do this than through an exclusive tour with Ken Hanley’s Small World Tours. Ken was the official tour guide for Lisa Marie and her family on a visit to her ancestral homeland in 2007.
· As a sports fan who particularly enjoyed watching American football, Scotland’s ample choice of golf courses would provide a more relaxing alternative, particularly during the winter months with guaranteed tee times and greater accessibility.
· Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow taking place 14 – 31 January will provide the King with a taste of traditional Scottish music. The eclectic and vibrant performances are sure to get him “all shook up”.
· Scotland culinary delights and local produce would are sure to whet the appetite, Glasgow’s Velvet Elvis provides a mixture of old classics from locally sourced producers.
· The Kings Theatres in Edinburgh and Glasgow play host to a wealth of performances throughout the year but come winter it’s time for the pantomime, great for “one night” out.
· The Parish of Lonmay in Aberdeenshire, where Elvis’ ancestors Andrew Presley and Elspeth Leg married on August 27, 1713.
VisitScotland’s Fiona Stewart, Consumer PR Manager North America, Asia/Pacific, said: “With such strong connections and a stunning winter white backdrop, Elvis’ birthday is yet another great reason to take a break in Scotland. There is wide range of things for Elvis fans to see and do across the country where they can experience a warm Scottish welcome.”

For information about things to see and do, included Scotland’s winter white activities log on to www.cometoscotland.com

For further information and images, please contact:
Claire Dickson
International PR Executive – North America & Australasia
VisitScotland
T: +44 (0) 131 472 2329
E: claire.dickson@visitscotland.com

Notes to Editors
VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourism organisation. Its core purpose is to maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Scotland.
For VisitScotland’s press releases, tourism statistics and frequently asked questions go to http://www.visitscotland.org
· For holiday information on Scotland go to www.cometoscotland.com

More Scottish Elvis Facts
· Scotsman Allan Morrison spent six years researching the Scottish ancestry of Elvis Presley and traced the family to an Andrew Presley who married Elsbeth Leg August 27th 1713 at the Lonmay Church in Aberdeenshire. It was Andrew’s son, also called Andrew, who was forced to flee Scotland in 1745 at the time of the Jacobite Rebellion and went to the Americas to settle in South Carolina. It is Andrew Presley who was Elvis Presley’s long lost relative. Public records prior to 1700 are very had to find so it was not possible to trace the Presley’s back any further. Allan has speculated that going way back in time Elvis original ancestors were probably Vikings, particularly in that area of Scotland where there were many Viking raids and settlements established.
· The Presleys in Scotland during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, with few exceptions, mostly lived in Aberdeenshire, either in the town of Lonmay or the nearby villages of New Deer, Old Deer and Tarves.
· A Presley of Lonmay tartan was designed to honor Elvis’s connection with Scotland, discovered in 2004. The blue to represent the nearby town of Peterhead. The green for countryside grass and yellow for local cornfields. Lisa Marie wears her Scottish tartan on stage.
· It has also been claimed that The King has ancestral connections to Paisley and a Scottish village called Alves near Elgin, which some residents claim was the source of the name “Elvis”.
· Elvis once performed Auld Land Syne, which was written by Scotland’s national bard, Robert Burns.
· Glasgow Prestwick Airport in Ayrshire is considered to be the only piece of United Kingdom territory on which Elvis Presley ever set foot, when the United States Army transport plane carrying him home stopped to refuel in 1960, whilst en route from Germany. A lounge, bearing his name, and a marker reflecting this event were inaugurated in 2006.

January 7, 2010   Posted in: Uncategorized