IT may be seem like an unlikely tourist attraction but a giant wind farm now sits alongside Edinburgh Castle, Loch Lomond and the Wallace Monument as one of Scotland's great visitor draws.
The surprise entry of Whitelee, near Glasgow, to the Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions (ASVA) comes as Europe's largest wind farm gets ready to welcome it 250,000th visitor since it first powered up in 2009.
Now with 140 turbines, Whitelee, on Eaglesham Moor, was the first wind farm in the world to create a visitor attraction with its success even coming as a surprise to its owners, ScottishPower Renewables.
While nearly a quarter of a million people have visited its visitor centre, it is estimated that more than 100,000 have been drawn to the wind farm to use its 90km network of walking and cycling trails.
Its move to join the ASVA will bring it international exposure and further recognition alongside some 500 of the most popular attractions in the country.
John Alexander, project director at ScottishPower Renewables, said: "We are very pleased Whitelee Windfarm will be joining Scotland's top tourist attractions as a fully fledged member of the ASVA.
"It is fantastic people have shown so much interest in the wind farm, and it has surpassed all of our expectations.
"One of our key priorities when building the wind farm was to ensure that it was accessible, and that people could enjoy interacting with it. The new tracks and paths have opened up large sections of countryside that people previously could not access.
"The biggest success we believe has been the number of visitors, especially the schoolchildren, who have come to the centre to learn more about renewable energy.
"The team at Glasgow Science Centre do a fantastic job in bringing the wind farm to life."
The £2 million visitor centre at Whitelee – which has interactive wind farm-themed gadgets and a cafe – is run by the energy firm and Glasgow Science Centre, with a focus on the technology behind the emerging energy sector. Around 10,000 pupils on school trips are among those who have visited the project.
Whitelee's turbines stand 360ft tall with some dotted around the Lochgoin Reservoir and a 75-turbine extension currently under construction at the green energy farm.
Andrew Johnson, chairman of ASVA, said: "Whitelee has excellent facilities and has proven to be a very popular destination for family days out."
Energy and Tourism Minister Fergus Ewing said: "Whitelee is creating new opportunities for a wide range of outdoor leisure activities through improved access, a popular visitor centre and great linkages into the education community.
"I know the great facilities on offer from my own visit to the centre, and the fact that nearly a quarter of a million visitors have come to the centre since it opened shows just how much people are interested in renewables and the opportunities they open up in the countryside."
But a spokeswoman for Communities Against Turbines said: "I think a vast number of visitors to Whitelee are schoolchildren who don't get a choice whether they get to go or not.
"I think the whole thing is a terrible propaganda racket."
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