Inchmahome Priory
Local highlightAn island priory on the Lake of Menteith, where the infant Mary, Queen of Scots was hidden for safety in 1547
Open to visitorsa Historic Environment Scotland site — many are free to wander; staffed ones charge and keep set hours
Substantial ruinsruined, but plenty survives above ground
Inchmahome sits on a wooded island in the Lake of Menteith, the one sizeable body of water in Scotland that goes by ‘lake’ rather than ‘loch’. The priory — a small monastery — was founded in the 13th century by the Earl of Menteith for Augustinian canons, who were clergy living together under monastic rule, and the roofless church and cloister still stand among ancient trees. Its best-known story is a brief one: in 1547, after a heavy Scottish defeat by an English army, the four-year-old Mary, Queen of Scots was brought to the island to keep her out of English hands, staying a few weeks before she was moved on and eventually shipped to France. Historic Environment Scotland runs the site, and you get to it by a small ferry from the Port of Menteith in season. It lies in gentle country on the eastern edge of Loch Lomond & The Trossachs.
