Stirling District Tourism (SDT) has added new facilities to the National Wallace Monument in Stirling for the 2009 summer season.

SDT, which operates the attraction, has completed a major redevelopment project at the base of The Abbey Craig, the crag on which the famous tower was built more than 140 years ago to commemorate the life of the Scottish patriot and martyr Sir William Wallace.

Designed specifically to enhance the visitor experience at the monument, the project has involved the construction of a new reception building, incorporating a ticket sales desk, retail area, and a new 50-seat Legends Coffee House, providing panoramic views towards The Abbey Craig and The Monument itself.

SDT chair, Archie Glendinning, said: "The National Wallace Monument is both a national landmark for Scotland, and a flagship attraction for the city of Stirling, so the standard and quality of welcome which visitors receive when they arrive at The Abbey Craig is really important."

In addition to the development of the new reception building, work has been carried out on The Abbey Craig itself to improve access to the woodlands which surround The Monument.

The work has been undertaken as part of The 'Woodlands In and Around Towns' initiative, an £8m programme of work being implemented by Forestry Commission Scotland between April 2008 and March 2011 with the objective of improving quality of life in towns and cities across Scotland by creating new woodland, bringing neglected woodland into active management, and working with people to help them use their local woodland.