Linlithgow Palace
National iconThe roofless royal palace beside a loch where Mary, Queen of Scots was born, a favourite home of the Stewart kings
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
Linlithgow Palace stands on a green mound beside a loch in the middle of Linlithgow, between Edinburgh and Falkirk. It was built as a comfortable royal home rather than a fortress, put up by the Stewart kings from the early 1400s as a stopping place on the road between Edinburgh and Stirling. Even as a shell it is grand: four ranges of buildings set around a central courtyard, with a carved fountain in the middle that the kings had running with wine on special occasions.
Two Scottish monarchs were born in the palace, James V in 1512 and his daughter Mary, Queen of Scots in 1542. After the crowns of Scotland and England were joined the kings spent less time here, and in 1746 the palace was gutted by fire while government troops were quartered in it during the Jacobite rising. It has stood roofless ever since.
Historic Environment Scotland looks after the palace, and it is well worth an hour or two: you can climb the turnpike stairs, look down into the great hall, and get out onto high points for a view over the loch and the town. It is a short walk from Linlithgow’s station and high street, and the old parish church, St Michael’s, stands right beside it with its unmistakable modern crown-shaped spire.
