Kinneil House and ground tours are now back on the calendar

Regular guided tours and walks on a Saturday kicked off once again just in time for the Easter weekend on March 30.

Indoor tours of the house will be available every Saturday until the end of September (except June 1 and August 30) at 10am, 11am, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm and will last approximately 45 minutes.

Tickets must be booked in advance on the Historic Environment Scotland website, at www.historicenvironment.scot, up to 15 minutes before the tour time. Specific tours can sometimes book up as there is limited availability. All enquiries about the indoor tours should be directed to HES.

To complement the indoor tour, the Friends of Kinneil will also offer a free volunteer-led outdoor walk most Saturdays at noon.

This will enable visitors to see some of the additional historic features of Kinneil Estate and hear their many other stories. No booking is needed for these walks, which start from Kinneil Museum – just turn up.

These walks will allow visitors to discover the site’s history which spans over 2000 years. From 1323, the land belonged to the Hamilton family. James Hamilton, who was Regent of Scotland from 1543 to 1554, built the present house. Its rare 16th and 17th Century wall paintings are considered among the finest of any house in Scotland.

There are also new features to explore this year including the re-imagined late mediaeval kitchen. On the top floor is an exhibition about the Antonine Wall.