Traquair House - Innerleithen

Bruce W.

Enjoyed a night here, and it was a lovely experience! A real treat to stay in such a historic building. Loved the view from our room out over the maze - worth climbing the spiral staircase to the room! Also lovely to relax in the Drawing Room which is next to the other two guest rooms on the ground floor. Breakfast was very relaxed, and made with quality produce - so very tasty. Lucy, the housekeeper, looked after us really well, and the team of guides were lovely and knowledgeable as we looked around the house. The grounds are full of wildlife and good for walks.

kimboreviews11

Stunning place and amazing guides throughout the estate. We felt very welcome and the cafe food was also lovely. Great history and gorgeous location. Fabulous day out with the kids! The grounds were immaculate and there was great trails and the maze was excellent. Great experience all in & worth every penny!

Emma B.

Traquair House was the perfect spot for our elopement. Everything about our wedding and two night stay here was perfection. It is an understatement to say it was a dream come true. Thank you so much Gillian and Angela! You made us feel so welcome and we thoroughly enjoyed the cozy room, delicious food and lovely company. I feel so lucky to have my memories of my wedding here. Thank you!

Chris S.

Day visit. Hard working cafe staff making fabulous food. Took two cakes for our tea. Then, I decided to buy a quiche to take away for our evening meal. It was delicious.

The gardeners keep the grounds in the old walled garden well looked after and cultivated. Thanks to them, especially for looking after the dedicated rowan tree in the top far corner of the garden.

417juliep

An amazing place, full of history, family owned and homely. Has strong connections with Mary, Queen of Scots and 27 other visiting Kings. Plenty to see, and there's even a brewery and B&B on site. Plenty of parking a short walk away and a cafe which we didn't try. Craft shops in the barns.

Ali J.

We visited Traquair House for the day, the main draw card being the hedge maze - we are from Australia so don't see them much, and it was my dream to get lost in one... and we did! But we found so much more on offer there as well... So much history to absorb, beautiful grounds and outbuildings, ancient trees, super friendly and knowledgeable staff, it was an amazing day out for adults & kids alike. Have already told everyone how amazing it is, definitely recommend!

Anthony D.

We were primarily there to visit the Maze, which did not disappoint. However we were very surprised by the experience offered in Traquair House itself. It was full of rich history and artifacts, providing loads of information. The walk around the grounds was also very beautiful, with everything in full bloom.
The very best part was the fountain of knowledge that is Pat! She knew such an impressive amount of information and was so gracious and kind in her interactions, that we would go back again just to speak to her!

Tess H.

If you're used to visiting houses managed by national organisations and trusts, then Traquair House will come as a very pleasant surprise. It's definitely quirky, a bit eccentric and has a wonderful warm atmosphere to it. Perhaps it's because the family still live here - Scotland's oldest inhabited house. We had wanted to visit here for some time and it didn't disappoint. It's easy to find with lots of parking and we were greeted on arrival in the car park by a very sweet dog, apparently the owner's. We had free entry as Historic House members but we did spend almost 5 hours here. At the house, we were met by Jan, one of the guides who gave us a very entertaining introductory talk and then showed us to a room playing a film giving a brief background of the house. The history and stories of the house are amazing and all credit to the guides, particularly Jan and Fraser who both have such warm enthusiasm for the house and have clearly researched extensively. I was unable to visit the upstairs as the stairs are the narrow spiral type so I visited one of the wings while my partner visited upstairs. Jan joined me and the time flew by as she talked extensively about the unusual items in the dining room plus the characters - I could have listened a lot longer, thank you, Jan! Then to the brewery shop to sample some ale (the Jacobite ale is a bit marmite!) and the usual gift shop.

We then visited the cafe for lunch where, sadly, the experience was a bit of a let down. It was a warm day so all the tables outside were taken and there was little atmosphere inside. Our diet cokes were warm and my partner's toastie was barely toasted and my cullen skink was unusual, being a broth with huge undercooked pieces of potato and skinny pieces of fish. We had heard the assistant say a couple of times that they were under staffed so decided to make the best of the food but unfortunately I found a rather large bone in the soup. We did show this to the assistant who apologised. We tried some cake but it was a little stale. Service was good but we felt the bill was high for the quality of food.

Back out to the gardens where we enjoyed a river walk alongside some very beautiful trees, we particularly admired the yews here. We dawdled along until we reached the house and then the walled garden where we spotted a deer munching some cake that had been dropped on the ground! All in all, we would return to visit the house and grounds but probably not the cafe.