One day last week we grabbed the best day according to the weather forecast and travelled to Linlithgow in West Lothian to visit Linlithgow Palace, which is where Mary Stuart – Queen of Scots was born, in 1542. Most of the town was burnt down by the English in 1424 and rebuilding started the next year which I suppose is when some parts of the palace date back to. It’s quite strange to be standing reading a notice which says that the doorway to your right was blocked up around the year 1500. The building and refurbishment would have continued all the time that the palace was occupied I suppose, people always seem to have wanted to change the places they lived in.
The view below is of the loch at the other side of the palace. I think it’s fair to say that this palace was well appointed. There were people in small rowing boats enjoying themselves on the loch, I imagine that that was a favourite pastime in the palace’s heyday too.
It’s really just a shell but it’s a very grand shell and well worth a visit, we were given Historic Scotland memberships at Christmas so we didn’t have to pay to get in but if you aren’t a member then it costs £5.50 which I think is a bargain, compared with charges for some other tourist attractions.
Sadly the fountain in the courtyard is under wraps at the moment as it undergoes refurbishment but you can see photos of it here. Through the window above you can just see the white wraps encasing the fountain.
We had been to the palace before but it was way back when we had young children so we weren’t able to traipse all over the place as there are a lot of stone spiral staircases which aren’t really small child friendly.
Nearly at the top.
Got there, but it was windy so we didn’t hang around up there too long. I’ll show you more photos soon.
You can see more images of Linlithgow Palace here.
Great shots! It blows my mind that you can stand in a building from that many years ago!
Peggy Ann,
I suppose we almost take them for granted really, so will you by the end of your trip!
It’s my experience that those spiral stone staircases aren’t Joan friendly either!
Joan,
I feel your pain, I’m always very wary of them and as I say to J – I always have a bag banging against me, a liability he doesn’t have.
Love exploring castles. I’ve been wanting to ask – have you read much of Antonia Fraser? This reminded me of Mary Queen of Scots. I just finished The Other Boleyn Girl (we’re watching Wolf Hall right now) and read Mary ages ago.
Pearl,
I have read Antonia Fraser’s Mary Queen of Scots and also her Charles II. I think she makes history very readable. I also have her books called The Warrior Queens, about Boadicea but haven’t got around to reading them yet. Are you enjoying Wolf Hall?
We are enjoying Wolf Hall. It helps that both of us have some study of the Tudor reign under our caps to start with. The intrigues and politics of the day make today’s political dustups seem paltry by comparison.
Pearl,
It does help to have some Tudor knowledge, I know that even some English people get quite confused by their own history, one woman I knew thought that Mary Stuart and Mary Tudor were the same person!