Hundreds flock to historic Bo'ness house for first weekly tours in decades

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Hundreds of people have been visiting Kinneil House in Bo'ness this summer as Historic Environment Scotland are running weekly tours for the first time in decades.

And while the final evaluation has still to take place, Historic Environment Scotland (HES) say its been such a success that they hope to offer the same access next year.

The 16th / 17th century mansion and its estate, which belonged to the Dukes of Hamilton, even got the royal seal of approval as King Charles visited as part of his coronation celebrations. Read more: Cost of Falkirk taxis at Christmas could rise to attract more drivers over festive period The house, which is owned by Falkirk Council, has been open every Saturday since April and the weekly tours will continue until September 30 (excluding September 2).It is the first time in nearly 70 years that the house has been open on a regular basis and the visitor numbers have shown people are keen to experience the unique attraction.Rachel Syderseff, district visitor and community manager at Historic Environment Scotland (HES), said: “Our tours at Kinneil House have been a great success this year.

We have had guided tours, led by HES staff each Saturday this season, with over 700 visitors having taken tours already."The reception has been great, and our tour guides even got the opportunity to meet HRH King Charles III when he visited Kinneil House earlier this summer.“We have also recently installed an exhibition about the Antonine Wall on the top floor of Kinneil House as an addition to the guided tour.“This operating model has been a pilot for the 2023 season, and we’ve been in close collaboration with both the Friends of Kinneil and Falkirk Council."At the end of September, we’ll do an