Top 10 'treasured places' named

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A Neolithic settlement and a much-derided town centre are among the 10 most treasured places in Scotland, a new survey has revealed.

Members of the public were asked to select the top 10 by choosing from 100 images of the country's landmarks.

The list is topped by Lady Victoria Colliery in Newtongrange, Midlothian, followed by the Glasgow School of Art.

It includes the Neolithic village of Skara Brae in Orkney and the much-reviled Cumbernauld town centre.

The structure, which came ninth, has twice received the Plook on the Plinth award for Scotland's worst architecture.

Orkney's Standing Stones of Stenness and the Falkirk Wheel also made it on to the list.

In 10th place is Rosslyn Chapel in Midlothian, which shot to fame after featuring in Dan Brown's bestseller The Da Vinci Code.

TOP 10 TREASURED PLACES Lady Victoria Colliery, NewtongrangeGlasgow School of ArtKing's College, AberdeenSt Meddan's Church, TroonThe Falkirk WheelKelvingrove Art Gallery and MuseumSkara Brae, OrkneyThe Standing Stones of Stenness, OrkneyCumbernauld Town Centre, North LanarkshireRosslyn Chapel, Midlothian

The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) is running the Treasured Places competition to help celebrate its centenary next year.

It compiled the longlist from RCAHMS' national collection, choosing places that are treasured on both a personal and national level.

Members of the public will now be asked to vote on their favourite image from the top 10 list to find the most treasured place in Scotland.

The other places to make it on to the shortlist were King's College in Aberdeen, St Meddan's Church in Troon, Ayrshire, and Kelvingrove Art Gallery in Glasgow.

More than 9,000 votes were cast on the treasured places website and by post during the five week voting period.

Siobhan McConnachie, Treasured Places project manager for RCAHMS, said: "The public have voted into the top 10 a mix of places that really reflects the variety of our initial list of 100.

"It goes to show that all sorts of places are treasured by people for many different reasons."

People will be able to vote for their favourite image from the top 10 from 1200 BST, and the winning image will be announced on 11 December.

The images will be shown in a Treasured Places exhibition at the City Art Centre in Edinburgh at the end of 2008 and in a touring exhibition around Scotland.