the Scottish Gemmological Association
we are now accepting Bookings for our 2025 conference
The 2025 SGA Conference will once again be held at the Westerwood Hotel at Dulatur near Cumbernauld starting on Friday the 2nd. of May.
Clicking on the Booking Form button below will take you to a PDF of the 2025 SGA Conference Booking Form.
Once this form has been completed and submitted, you will receive an aknowledgement with a link to the Westerwood’s 24/7 Reservations Line. This will enable you to make your accommodation reservation online. Please note that, with the hotel group’s apologies, this link may not be up and running before the end of January.
An invoice for the total payment due to the SGA will be sent out after the 24th of February together with a Request Form to be completed for our Sunday afternoon workshops and Monday Field Trips. The invoice will detail our preferred methods of payment.
Please note:
We are accepting bookings from now, but will not be sending out invoices before the 24th of February. Receipt of the Booking Form will be acknowledged and sent out together with the Westerwood Hotel online Accommodation Booking Line Link.
The SGA block reservation of rooms will only be held until 11th April, then they will revert to the hotel and their standard prices.
The invoices will be sent out in the order bookings were received and will include the Workshop Request Form for completion and return. Some sessions will have limited number of places, so it’s first come, first served!
Payment of invoices showing Early Bird prices must be made by the 15th of March, otherwise full prices will come into effect. Please note that our cancellation policies are stated on the Booking Form.
We intend to offer two, possibly three excursion options, depending on popularity.
Lauristion Castle
If there is enough interest expressed and if the weather is not too unkind, we may also repeat our popular field trip into the Campsie Fells to collect jasper. As the access to the cliff face /collecting area involves a bit of a scramble, you will need to dress appropriately. Please note that, depending on other possibilities, the choice of location maybe changed to somewhere we have not gone before.
Thirdly, we might organise a visit to a local Whisky Distillery
If you are interested in any (or all!) of these, please indicate your preferences on the booking form and we will finalise the options based on the early responses and invoice accordingly.
The Hotel
After you have booked you place at the Conference, you will receive a link to the hotel’s online 24/7 booking line.
Please note that, with the hotel group’s apologies, this link may not be up and running before the end of January.
The four-star Westerwood Hotel is set amid acres of glorious Scottish countryside overlooked by the Campsie Hills and offers a stunning location with luxurious leisure facilities and excellent conference spaces - not to mention an 18-hole golf course designed by none other than Seve Ballesteros.
There are 148 spacious bedrooms, complemented by a luxurious spa and health club, complete with a fully-equipped gym, a generously sized swimming pool and a relaxing sauna. We have reserved their standard rooms for our Delegates, but if you wish, you can request an upgrade when booking. <https://www.thewesterwoodhotel.co.uk/rooms-suites/>. We have also negotiated the same preferential rates if you want to arrive a day or so early or stay on for a day or two, however it is probably best to contact the hotel directly to make arrangements other than the standard options, Tel: +0044 (0)1236 457171.
The en-suite bathrooms mostly come with separate bath and shower facilities and rooms are easily accessible, although there are a few rooms designated as fully accessible available with additional accessibility facilities, <https://www.thewesterwoodhotel.co.uk/access-statement/>.
If you wish to play the Westerwood Golf Course, bookings can be made through Reception on a first come, first served basis and a preferential Delegates rate applies. There are usually a few delegates looking for fellow golfers to play a round - just ask when boooking Golf clubs, (right or left handed!) can be hired by special request.
If you experience any problems, please contact sga@scottishgemmology.org
