My last night in Scotland, I booked what I though looked like a quaint B&B for the night. Boy did I lowball that expectation.
Coming from Loch Lomond after a pleasant cruise along the mirror finish waters; I made my way to my overnight, Traquair House.
The approach felt a bit “out of the way” but it was a good position to visit Melross Abbey the next day, but well priced and included breakfast.
So I find the driveway entrance, and was greeted by this sign.
I then drive in towards the building to see this.
My quaint B&B overnight, was a popular day tourist attraction, visited by 27 kings, with grounds, river walks, multiple floors of history displayed and a Maze !
I was greeted and checked into the Pink Room, 1 of the 3 rooms you can stay in, but the only one in the main house, the other 2 are in an attached annex, which includes the evening sitting room. More about that soon.
Traquair House
Park the car to one side, and climb the spiral stone staircase a couple of floors to a Private door, which opened to the left for the Pink Room, overlooking the maze, and to the right, your private bathroom which faced the entry courtyard. To say it was spacious would be understating. Big comfortable bed, work desks under the windows with a delightful view, and many heritage touches that were for enjoyment, as opposed to being roped off for No Touching.
Bags away, you are then free to explore the grounds, and the historic displays on the many floors of the main house, including access to some narrow stone staircases used by priests and kings.
I arrived the week before Halloween, so the cellars were being staged for the local kids to enjoy some spooky fun.
I grabbed an early meal at the 1745 Cottage restaurant before it closed at 4pm; walked the grounds, and eventually made my way to the sitting room. An honesty system was in place to the liquor cabinet, and a bucket of ice was gladly provided upon request. The sitting room is roped off to the tourists during the day, but open exclusively to the Guests for the evening. Fireplace lit, you settle back into the old worldly chairs or chaise lounges to enjoy a book, drink, and just absorb the ambiance of a room that has a rich heritage of very special guests.
On this occasion, I was the only overnight guest, and the staff could not have been more welcoming. A huge breakfast awaited me in the morning, set in an elegant china room. From start to finish, if the place was not described as a House, you would consider this a Castle stay, and I would HIGHLY recommend putting this on your bucket list.
Last word of mention, below is a photo of one of the Collections in the house. A doll collector would appreciate the ensemble, but for anyone else who has seen one too many horror movies……….
