Visit Scotland - World's first "Coosmonaut"

Visit Scotland. Seriously, visit Scotland! It's such an incredible place, full of mountains, lochs and highland cows. From the ancestral home of Neil Armstrong, the world's first Coosmonaut takes flight.

Over half a century on from the first moon landing where astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins set off in Apollo 11 to take one giant leap for mankind, we take to the skies with a highland cow from the ancestral home of the Armstrong clan.

It's also over half a century since the beginnings of Scotland's national tourism organisation VisitScotland so its fantastic to celebrate these two big occasions with an out-of-this-world feat. To celebrate these memorable anniversaries, we launched a cuddly toy Highland coo (Scots word for cow) – into space. BuzzBò, named after Apollo 11 astronaut, Buzz Aldrin, and the Gaelic word for cow, ‘Bò’, soared 36,000 metres from Gilnockie Tower near Langholm to the edge of the Earth’s atmosphere, before making his return. The intrepid animal was named by 7-year-old Peter Lunan, of Dunblane, whose entry was chosen by the national tourism organisation in its national ‘Name the Highland Coosmonaut’ competition.

Dressed to impress, the coo was suited and booted in its very own custom-made spacesuit, complete with traditional Clan Armstrong tartan of course – supplied by Lochcarron of Scotland – which was specially made by Vintage Bunting in the Scottish Borders. Neil Armstrong has strong connections to the Scottish clan Armstrong. Three years after the historic moment on the Moon, Neil Armstrong took another ‘small step’ into the history books, only this time in Langholm in Dumfries & Galloway, the ancestral home of Clan Armstrong. It was here in ‘Muckle Toon’ that he became the first and only Freeman of the town. When Armstrong accepted the honour, he told the audience: “It’s said that the most difficult place to be recognised is in one’s own home town. And I consider this, now, my home town.” This picturesque town is the traditional seat of Clan Armstrong and it was here that this clan dominated the south western border in the 16th century. Head to Gilnockie Tower, a fine defensive pele tower, where you can explore the enthralling 500 years of history when Clan Armstrong thrived across the region.

Scotland has an array of stellar attractions and locations across the country that all boast fascinating connections to outer space. From Loch Airigh in the Outer Hebrides with links to Jupiter, and the Isle of Coll which is Scotland’s Dark Sky Island, to Bonnybridge in Falkirk, the official UFO capital of Scotland, there are dozens of places where you can enjoy an out-of-this-world experience. https://www.visitscotland.com/blog/events/moon-landing-anniversary/