traquair house & brewery

Brilliant day out for all the family.Easter egg hunt soon in the maze.Your mind runs riot at the thought of the Kings that have visited here. And the ghosts that may be lurking.

As the oldest inhabited house in Scotland, Traquair House is to be enjoyed. Remembering this is snot a museum, the house contains many interesting artifacts and works of art; be sure to engage with the staff located around the house to understand some of the history and significance of the pieces. Understand some of the reasoning behind the winding staircases (providing some defensive ability at the time of construction). We enjoyed afternoon tea in the cottage, a wander around the facilities.Enjoy the visit.

Enjoyed a Christmas special offer with free entry. For the younger children Samta paid a visit. The house has rooms on each floor packed with history with Mary Queen of Scots well represented. Nice laid out house accessed through steep winding stairs to each floor. There is a maze for those who want to be lost for a few hours and the birds on the water were great to see.

If you like climbing stairs and narow crowded rooms then Traquair house is a must. However for us it was not too much to write home about the beer is by no means the best in the borders On the whole the history was not wellpresented and the younger members of our party soon lost interest. The older ones spent most of the time looking for somewher to sit down!

Traquair is a magnificent house and being able to wander at leisure through furnished rooms is great, An added bonus is the brewery and buying some Jacobite ale is a must

Traquair House is a really unique stop. So many nooks and crannies inside. You really get the feel of what it would have been like to live in those days. Be ready to traverse some narrow and steep stairs. And the grounds are really quirky, too. Sure, it's a historic site that depends on tourism to survive. But it certainly has not been spruced up to simulate a Disney stop. Also, take the B-road drive to get there. The drive is really a tourist stop in itself. Just be prepared to drive slowly and on a very narrow road.

Really interesting place to walk round, you need to be agile for all the steps, lots to see ,very friendly guides and a great gift shop and brewery.

Many thanks for your feedback although I am sorry you felt the staff looked bored. We generally receive excellent feedback as you can see from other reviews. I would also take issue with your comment that the house was "run down" - this is a genuinely historic house that has not been restored or conserved so it may have the aura of faded grandeur that many would see as its charm. I can assure you the fabric is in excellent repair. The grounds we maintain as far as possible to a high standard and I am sorry if you found an overgrown path.

Beautiful area, lovely grounds and fantastic place to take children.House very interesting and 'alive'. Ticket lady late opening office but very helpful staff tried to help.

We spent a Sunday afternoon exploring this house. It has a fascinating history, and many fascinating objects, including an old Scottish postal map, giving cost, routes & method of transport (eg walk, horse, boat) to every part of Scotland; a room full of antique dolls with a stunning dolls house and much more. Mary Queen of Scots stayed here on her last night in Scotland and you can see the bed she slept in plus some beautiful hangings which she herself embroidered. Last of all there is a beautiful woodland garden. It's a house not to be missed!

We enjoyed the self-guided tour, but the tour guides were available to add more information as well. We had a great time! The onsite brewery was a nice surprise, and the beer was really good. We had a fantastic time wandering around the hedge maze as well. Great experience!

I'd seen this house in the off season, drawn to it by the romance of the bear gates that have been locked, never to open again, since Bonnie Prince Charlie passed through. This year I arrived when the house was open and got to tour it in its entirety.This is a jewel of historical preservation, each room a chapter in the long pages of history Traquair house embodies. The displays and signage are beautiful and educational, the docent who directed us very helpful, and the splendid condition of the buildings are truly a labor of love.The brewery was a lovely surprise and the cheerful gent overseeing the room gave us tastes of all three brews. They were so good that I bought the 3-pack - and managed to carry two of the three all the way back to the US! The beer is, by the way, delicious.Definitely worth a visit with a long while to spend, as the grounds are as lovely as the house.

We recently stayed with family and my partner in a rented cottage in Jedburgh. On the Saturday we ventured up to Traquair House for the day and was really impressed with the whole experience.It is Scotland's oldest inhabited house and, as it is still owned and lived in by the family, it is a very different experience to visiting a national trust or historic Scotland property. The family have managed to open up so much to the public and have done a great job of documenting the interesting history of the house and grounds in a really engaging way. There is so much more than just the house to see. There is a nice walled garden full of apple and pear trees where you can have lunch/tea. A really nice cafe which served great food at reasonable prices. Some outhouses have been leased to independent craft businesses (I ended up getting myself a lovely necklace!), a woodland walk down by the river, some farm animals, a kids play area, a brewery and shop and most fun of all, a huge maze! We arrived at 11.30 am and stayed until 4.30pm. The grounds are lovely and the history is really interesting (apparently you can also stay there as a B&B) and the staff were really knowledgeable about the house and could tell all sorts of stories about the objects and things on display. I would definitely recommend if you are in the area.

On our way home from a Scottish Borders trip we made a detour to see Traquair House, the oldest inhabited house in Scotland. As we are Stewarts this is an important house being visited by Bonnie Prince Charlie and Mary, Queen of Scots. Numerous other Kings & Queens' have stayed here and the house just reeks of history. Set in stunning grounds with beautiful walks in the wooded areas surrounding the estate make this a real treasure. Staff are very friendly and informative. The tea room, set in an old block is very good, if just a little pricy. Jacobean beauty with something to teach even the most ardent historian. Rooms as you would expect in this type of house are smaller than some of the many stately homes I have visited but they are very interesting in every sense. A house with its own brewery....It doesn't get better than that. Clearly in purely historic perspective this house should be visited by anyone with an interest in the history of Scotland, you will enjoy it, my wife and I did.

I visited Traquair last summer, 2013, & insisted my friend join me for my 2ndview of the oldest inhabited house in Scotland. I'm quite fascinated with the Jacobites & their heartfelt determination to remain strong & stay true to themselves & their cause of Catholicism. Mary Queen of Scots visited frequently & the beauty of the gardens & peaceful surroundings. It's a self tour, but well layed out beginning with a most interesting 15 minute video that is a must if you want to grasp the historical importance if the home. There is shopping available of handcrafted leather & silver goods + wood carvings at reasonable prices. Remember the silver is sterling as some places sell similar jewelry that's silver plated. I purchased a necklace time piece that can also be worn as a watch bob...OH, & LEST NOT FORGET THE QUAINT COTTAGE WITH DELECTABLE CUISINE. I you enjoy ale be sure & visit that part of the gift shops as it's quite reasonable & tastings are given before you purchase.STOP & SMELL THE FLOWERS & ENJOY TRAQUAIR HOUSE......