Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Information
Peebles Information Centre
(
01721-723159;
www.visitscottishborders.com
;
High St;
9am-5pm Mon-Sat)
Open later and on Sundays in summer (Apr-Sep).
Getting There & Away
The bus stop is beside the post office on Eastgate. Bus 62 runs half hourly (hourly on
Sundays) to Edinburgh (£7, 1 hour) and Melrose (1 hour).
TRAQUAIR HOUSE
One of Scotland's great country houses,
Traquair House
(
www.traquair.co.uk
;
adult/child/family £7.70/4/21;
11am-5pm Easter-Sep, 11am-4pm Oct, 11am-3pm Sat & Sun Nov)
has a powerful ethereal beauty, and wandering
around here is like travelling back in time. Odd, sloping floors and a musty odour bestow a genuine feel, and parts
of the building are believed to have been constructed long before the first official record of its existence in 1107.
The massive tower house was gradually expanded over the next 500 years but has remained virtually unchanged
since the 17th century.
The house has belonged to various branches of the Stuart family since the 15th century. The family's unwavering
Catholicism and loyalty to the Stuart cause led to famous visitors like Mary, Queen of Scots, and Bonnie Prince
Charlie, but also to numerous problems after the deposal of James II of England in 1688. The family's estate, wealth
and influence were gradually whittled away, as life as a Jacobite became a furtive, clandestine affair.
One of Traquair's most interesting places is the concealed room where priests secretly lived and performed Mass
up until 1829, when the Catholic Emancipation Act was finally passed. Other beautiful, time-worn rooms hold fas-
cinating relics, including the cradle used by Mary for her son, James VI of Scotland (who also became James I of
England), and fascinating letters from the Jacobite Earls of Traquair and their families, including one particularly
moving one written from death row in the Tower of London.
The main gates to the house were locked by one earl in the 18th century, not to be opened until the day a Stuart
king reclaimed the throne in London; meanwhile, you'll have to enter by a side gate.
In addition to the house, there's a garden maze, a small brewery producing the tasty Bear Ale, and a series of craft
workshops.
Traquair is 1.5 miles south of Innerleithen, about 6 miles southeast of Peebles. Bus 62 runs from Edinburgh via
Peebles to Innerleithen and on to Galashiels and Melrose.
