Tour of Traquair House in Scotland

Discover international travel for the over 50's and take a trip to visit the Scottish castle of Traquair.

George: Hello everyone, I’m George Bauer in Scotland, a land of magnificent highland beauty, wonderful waterways, changeable weather and 250 castles, palaces, towers and stately homes. All of them have a story to tell, unfortunately we don’t have time to tell all their stories but I will show you some of the most majestic. And I’m prepared, I mean every kind of weather. On the outer rim of western Europe, Scotland is the northernmost part of Great Britain, about 2/3 the size of England and Wales. Scotland’s population is about 5 million hardy souls. They live in uplands and lowlands, highlands and islands. There are hundreds of mountain peaks here and this is the land of fresh water lochs including one loch that tradition says is the home of a famous monster of the deep water. I begin my trek in southern Scotland, along the River Tweed at Traquair. Records show it is the oldest continuously inhabited house in Scotland. It has been a part of some 900 years of Scottish history. Because of that notoriety, 27 English and Scottish monarchs have paid a call on Traquair house. It was originally a castle owned by the kings of Scotland. It later became home of the earls of Traquair and it is still lived in by their descendants the Maxwell Stuart family. The house was a steward family stronghold for 500 years. The laird of the manor is actually a lady. Female: The story of the title is that the earldom was granted in the 1630 because the first earl was the chief high treasure of Scotland. And when the earldom was granted, it always had to pass through the male line and that lasted for about five or six generation but latterly, the last earl didn’t have any children and so after that, the title was lost and so now, the only title that’s left is what we call, what I am is the laird of Traquair or the lady of Traquair which simply means like the lord of the manor really in English but it’s not really a proper title. George: Traquair house began as a fortified tower then evolved into a stout walled 17th century mansion. On the main level, the king’s room is impressive on a small scale. When royals came here to hunt, this was where they laid their regal heads. To one side, there’s a powder closet for his majesty’s wigs. The bellows were used to powder the hairpieces and clever folks that they were, the powder room is separate to keep the dust out of the bedroom. In 1566, Mary Queen of Scots stayed here for a time with her husband. The cradle is said to have held James VI of Scotland, who later became James I of England, the first monarch to unite England and Scotland and to rule France and Ireland to boot. The dressing room is in the oldest part of Traquair. The first bathroom was not installed until 1922. Cans of hot and cold water were employed as toilets before that. There was no electricity until 1958. The drawing room is one of the most impressive in the house with painted beams, a notable Scottish form of decoration. On the second level, there’s a child’s room, a ladies bedroom and a museum of family heirlooms. The family motto, judge naut or judge nothing. On the top floor, two impressive libraries. This one’s sealed off because the room houses volumes dating back to the 16th century. Throughout its long history, Traquair house has been a working farm and in the year 1731, this is what the farm had. Four score of ewes, two score of pigs, one score of hogs, six milk cows, and a few horses. And on this page is a ledge of everything that was sold that year, six ducks, several pigeons and pheasants and some chickens and in 1731, the beer crop appeared to be okay, 10 bottles of beer were produced. I know people who can drink 10 bottles of beer in one day. In the priest’s room, there’s a secret stairway. It leads out of the house. Whenever anti catholic British forces came in search of Catholics. And the Stuarts thought of everything it seems. The clerical vestments were made to look like bedspreads. Catholicism was finally legalized here in 1829, even today, there’s a catholic chapel next to Traquair house still used for worship. Off to the side of the original house, the main dining room is decorated in early 19th century style. There’s French influence from wall to wall. After a fancy dinner, the women would repair to the drawing room just off the dining room while the gents remained at the table smoking and drinking. Traquair is not only one of the great houses in the country, but it’s also home to one of the oldest breweries in Britain. Collin: The brewery in this present site was built in 1700 originally to supply the family and the servants in fact in those days, it would part of the servant’s wages. The brewery remained opened until early 1800s when it became more economical to bring in ale producers to produce their own. The brewery was then used as a repository for junk and furniture until 1965 when the present laird’s father, Peter, decided he would like open more of the house to the public, cleared out the old junk downstairs and found the old brewing equipment. George: Collin took me to the original brew rooms below the house. Traquair house ale is still produced here as are some other strong dark Scottish suds and if you’d like to be the laird of the manor, you actually can be. There are three rooms that you can rent here at Traquair. This is the blue room and in addition to your bed, bathroom and breakfast, if you stay here, you get a couple of extra bonuses. One is a bottle of ale brewed right here on the property and a box of truffles, enjoy. There are three rooms for rent. It’s a way to celebrate a birthday, anniversary or wedding in Traquair’s Scottish splendor. This castle comes with 6000 acres of land, more than 2400 hectares.