Bowhill – 7th August 2012

Leaving Melrose we headed for Selkirk then along the Yarrow Valley to Bowhill. The ancestral home of the Duke & Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry, Bowhill overlooks the lovely Ettrick Valley.

In 1812 the 4th Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry commissioned William Atkinson to build the current house. Following the death of the Duke in 1819 work was stopped. Work began again in 1831 under the 5th Duke following his marriage to Lady Charlotte Thynne, daughter of the Marquess of Marquess of Bath.

We had a wonderful tour of the house and its treasures, our guide Barbara’s knowledge of the house and family was remarkable. The house is surrounded by beautiful countryside plus there are several lovely walks around the grounds, especially around the garden loch. After a lovely walk around the loch, we had refreshments on the Minstrel Tea Room then visited the Courtyard Gift Shop.

We travelled back to Melrose via the Ettrick Valley.

Bowhill from the loch

Bowhill from the front

Bowhill loch

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 7th, 2012 at 8:04 pm. It is filed under Borders, Borders Journeys, Bowhill, Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry, Ettrick, Gardens, Group Tours, Guided Tours, History & Culture, Individual Tours, Loch, Melrose, Organised Tours, Selkirk, Selkirkshire, Sir Walter Scott, Stately Home, Tours, Yarrow. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.