A heritage charity is looking for homes for thousands of chocolate eggs left over after its Easter egg hunts were cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

More than 30,000 boxed eggs were delivered to National Trust for Scotland (NTS) by Cadbury for its egg hunts before the lockdown began.

Staff have donated around half the eggs to hospitals, food banks and community groups around Scotland and they now want other groups to contact them if they can use the treats – which have a use-by date of July.

Easter eggs to share
The trust is trying to find homes for more than 15,000 chocolate eggs (Andrew Milligan/PA)

NTS estimates that if stacked on top of each other, the original 30,000 eggs would have been three times the height of the tallest trust peak, Ben Lawers, which is a 3,984ft Munro.

Mark Bishop, of the NTS, said: “It was absolutely heart-breaking to have to cancel our Easter egg hunts this year and not be able to welcome the tens of thousands of people who we usually see.

“As well as being our biggest weekend of the year, Easter marks the start of the season for many of our properties but given the unprecedented global situation, everything had to be put on hold. In the midst of all this, though, we saw that some good could come out of the situation.

“Thirty thousand Easter eggs don’t eat themselves and our operations teams have been finding places for them to go.

“It’s wonderful that so many have gone to the NHS and to other groups and organisations doing incredible work in our communities.”

National Trust for Scotland Easter eggs
Claire Grant from the National Trust for Scotland with a pile of Easter eggs in the drawing room at the Georgian House in Edinburgh (Andrew Milligan/PA)

Last year 32,000 people took part in the trust’s Easter egg hunts and the 2020 event at 41 sites across Scotland had been expected to be even bigger.

The remaining eggs are currently being kept in storage at trust properties.

Suggestions of organisations which could take the chocolate can be made through the NTS social media pages.

Eggs have already been donated to hospitals around the country including paediatric wards in NHS Lanarkshire, the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow, Perth Royal Infirmary, Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, and Borders General Hospital.

In Tayside, eggs went to a range of locations including Stracathro Hospital in Angus, Kingsway Care Centre in Dundee, the Murray Royal Hospital and community mental health teams in Perth, Kinross, Arbroath, Brechin and Forfar.

Culzean Castle, Brodick Castle, Pollok House, Threave Garden and Tenement House all donated their eggs to local foodbanks, while Bannockburn gave its treats to Women’s Aid in Alloa and The Bellfield Centre in Stirling.

Eggs also went to community groups and charities such as the Community Pantry in Larbert, Fullarton Connexions in Irvine, homelessness charity Seascape in Ayr, 10:10 Trust in Ayrshire, Centrestage in Kilmarnock, Peace Childcare and the Royal Blind home in Edinburgh.