House & GardenWest LothianNational Trust for Scotland4.6
Free entry for National Trust members
This place is cared for by the National Trust for Scotland, a separate charity. Under the INTO reciprocal visiting arrangement, National Trust members from England, Wales and Northern Ireland get free standard entry. Show your current membership card at admissions.
More information
Guided tour, pre-booked. Standard prices without the optional 10% donation. Free for National Trust for Scotland members and, under the INTO reciprocal arrangement, National Trust members.
Guided tour with coffee and shortbread.
No charge for anyone.
Free car park on the estate with two disabled spaces at the main door of the house and bike racks opposite the car park.
The House of the Binns sits on a ridge above the Forth near Linlithgow and has been home to the Dalyells for more than 400 years, since Thomas Dalyell, an Edinburgh merchant enriched at the court of James VI, built it in 1612. The plaster ceilings of 1630 were put up for Charles I's visit to Scotland, Renaissance painted woodwork survives from its first years, and the rooms hold the family's portraits, furniture and porcelain, including relics of Tam Dalyell, who raised the Royal Scots Greys here in 1681. The family gave it to the National Trust for Scotland in 1944 on condition they could stay, and a descendant still lives here. A woodland walk climbs to the hilltop tower for a view across central Scotland, and peacocks roam the grounds. Dogs on a short lead are welcome on the wider estate, but not in the parkland when lambs or calves are about. Reviewers praise the storytelling on the tours and the views. Tips from visitors: the house is by pre-booked guided tour only, Thursday to Monday, some with coffee and shortbread; the grounds are free daily; and parking is easy.
House tours Thursday to Monday from 12 March to 31 October; closed November and December. Book on the NTS events page. Estate open daily all year.
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Dogs, with restrictions
From the house through the woodland east of the house to the hilltop tower and back past the smokehouse; 1km, up to 30 minutes, easy to moderate, uneven and steep in places.
