National Trust for Scotland
Since 1931 our charity's been protecting Scotland's natural, cultural & historic places for everyone A shared heritage is the cornerstone of any strong culture.
The National Trust for Scotland is the charity that cares for, shares and speaks up for Scotland’s magnificent heritage. We’re Scotland’s largest membership organisation and we’re independent from government. Since 1931, we’ve pioneered public access to and shared ownership of some of the most magnificent buildings, collections and landscapes in Scotland. We care for ancient houses, battlefields,
11/08/2024
Are you searching for ideas for entertaining your wee ones? We’ve got you – collect your map at your nearest Trust place for inspiration for your next great day out with the National Trust for Scotland!
10/08/2024
Mingulay is a place of desolate beauty – and simply reaching it is an adventure!
This uninhabited island is found on the very edge of the Outer Hebrides, just south of Barra. It can be accessed in the right conditions by boat tours from neighbouring islands, including Barra and Uist.
It's an unforgettable trip to sail to Mingulay – to the west lies rugged cliffs, caves, sea stacks and promontories; in the east, green grassy slopes, white sandy bays and turquoise seas.
The spectacular cliffs house internationally important breeding seabird colonies, including fulmars, guillemots, kittiwakes, oystercatchers, puffins, razor bills and terns.
Mingulay is also fascinating for the mementoes it holds of the people who once lived here; uninhabited since 1912, abandoned dwellings are the only trace of a community going back centuries.
09/08/2024
☠️ Do you know the dark stories of Edinburgh's past? Discover the chilling tales of body-snatching and dark deeds along the Royal Mile in the latest Love Scotland episode with Jackie Bird!
Listen now for free:
🎧 Spotify: https://brnw.ch/21wLLbr
🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://brnw.ch/21wLLbq
08/08/2024
TRUE or FALSE: House of Dun, Garden & Estate NTS's sundial is older than the house itself. 🤔
08/08/2024
We need your support in the battle over Bannockburn! We have to preserve this historic location, which is under threat from proposed developments that will destroy one of the last remaining areas of open landscape on which this significant battle took place in 1314.
PLEASE urge Scottish Ministers to call in Stirling Council’s decision as a matter of urgency. Here's how: https://www.nts.org.uk/stories/were-in-a-battle-about-bannockburn-and-we-need-your-support
05/08/2024
The dog days of summer are here – swipe for five of our favourite places to bring your four-legged friends for a tail-wagging trip.
📍 Ben Lomond, 📸 Laura Nicoll
📍 Ben Lawers, 📸 Tasha Jack
📍 Castle Fraser, 📸 Mark Allan
📍 Dunkeld, 📸 Leila Bianka
📍 Culzean Castle, 📸 Kath Caldwell
04/08/2024
Meet the Makers! Peter Dignan, co-owner of Lost Loch Spirits, shares more about the creation of Pink Castle Gin, a bespoke gin with flavours inspired by the iconic Craigievar Castle NTS – hit the link in our comments to read more.
02/08/2024
⛳ How and why did golf became so popular in Scotland?
Find out in this week's episode of the Love Scotland podcast. From its royal roots onwards, Jackie Bird charts a centenary of golf at Kingarrock Hickory golf course – the only remaining course of its kind in the UK – and the wider history of Scottish golf, which stretches back as far as 500 years ago!
🎧 Spotify: https://brnw.ch/21wLDAA
🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://brnw.ch/21wLDAz
Are you looking for ways to keep your kids entertained these last few weeks of the school holidays? There’s so much fun to be had at our sites – from places to play to adventures in nature, great days out are guaranteed.
30/07/2024
This photo was taken from the garden at Castle ______ ? 🤔
kicks off this week and if you’re visiting the city in search of comedy and culture, add these six places to your itinerary.
📍 Gladstone's Land NTS is one of the oldest buildings on the Royal Mile, a commercial and social hub for over five hundred years.
📍 The Georgian House NTS is a grand townhouse in the heart of Edinburgh’s New Town, with a fine collection of portraits and period pieces.
📍 Newhailes House & Gardens NTS is an impressive eighteenth-century mansion, with an equally remarkable playpark for your wee ones to enjoy.
📍 Malleny Garden NTS is another peaceful oasis on the outskirts of Edinburgh, where heritage roses sit alongside four-hundred-year-old yew trees.
📍 Inveresk Lodge Garden NTS is just a stone's throw from the city centre, a hillside plant haven offering a sanctuary of tranquillity.
📍 Preston Mill & Phantassie Doocot NTS with its curious conical roof, is an architectural oddity that beguiles visitors as much as it delights painters and photographers.
The National Trust for Scotland, a charity supported by you, has been protecting our country’s natural, cultural and historic places since 1931, so we can all share in them. If you love it, you look after it and we think places that make people smile are worth caring for – support us so we can keep sharing them with everyone.
28/07/2024
4 photos of puffins to fight the .
These cute seabirds seem to be remarkably tame, apparently little troubled by the proximity of humans who travel to our islands, coastlines and cliffs to see them when they come inland to breed.
However, puffins are truly hardy little birds, spending up to nine months a year out at sea and withstanding the wild winter storms in the North Atlantic.
They nest in burrows on top of cliffs or on slopes rather than on rocky ledges, which can make them vulnerable to predators.
Staffa, Canna, St Kilda, and the Treshnish Isles are all good places to spot them.
27/07/2024
There are over a hundred places to explore and thousands of experiences to be had across the National Trust for Scotland, meaning fun family memories are guaranteed with every membership – join us today, and start planning your next adventure.
📸 Natalie Jackson, Ali MacLeod, Sarah Watson, Allie McAllister
26/07/2024
James VI: a wise man or a fool? You decide after listening to the latest episode of our podcast, !
Jackie Bird and Steven Veerapen, author of The Wisest Fool, discuss the adult life and legacy of James VI of Scotland and I of England – a monarch who faced a host of challenges, from religious tensions to the gunpowder plot.
🎧 Spotify: https://brnw.ch/21wLvED
🎧 Apple: https://brnw.ch/21wLvEB
24/07/2024
Question: how many pink castles are in our care? 🏰 🤔
a) 1
b) 2
c) 3
d) 4
📍 Craigievar Castle, 📸 Nicki Lyall
Happy ! 🍨😍 To celebrate, we caught up with Mackie’s about their sustainable initiatives at their farm in Aberdeenshire.
The Trust is proud to work alongside Mackie's Ice Cream & Chocolate. In addition to providing our outlets with a high-quality product, they are an established Scottish company with excellent industry knowledge that supports our teams in many ways. Their approach to sustainability and reducing food miles aligns so well with the Trust’s ethos.
J M Barrie's Birthplace NTS
Creator of Peter Pan, J M Barrie spent his childhood in this small whitewashed cottage in Kirriemuir, and it’s here that you can see traces of the creative spirit he was set to become.
The son of a weaver, Barrie lived with his seven brothers and sisters in two upstairs rooms, while his father’s weaving workshop was downstairs.
The washhouse in the yard is where the young author performed his first play at the age of seven, and it may have even inspired the wendy house in Peter Pan.
An exhibition in the cottage tells the story of the life and work of Barrie, and includes the writing desk from the flat where he penned Peter Pan – you'll even see the original costumes from the first production of Peter Pan.
The National Trust for Scotland, a charity supported by you, has been protecting our country’s natural, cultural and historic places since 1931, so we can all share in them. If you love it, you look after it and we think places that make people smile are worth caring for – support us so we can keep sharing them with everyone.
19/07/2024
The National Trust for Scotland cares for how many Munros? 🤔
You can find out in the latest episode of – Jackie sits down with Andrew Dempster, author of The Munros: A History, to trace the ever-increasing popularity of bagging a Munro.
The Munros: Mountain Myths and Milestones is streaming now.
🎧 Spotify: https://brnw.ch/21wLnKs
🎧 Apple: https://brnw.ch/21wLnKt
18/07/2024
4 tail-wagging trips for your four-legged friends this summer.
📍 Fyvie Castle, 📸 Elise Simpson
📍 Craigievar Castle, 📸 Ross Smith
📍 Culzean Castle, 📸 Lisa Gordon
📍 Brodick Castle, 📸 Nichola Smyth
16/07/2024
10 gardens to discover this summer. What do you love most about the gardens in our care?
📍 Crarae Garden NTS, 📸 Carl Payne
📍 Malleny Garden NTS, 📸 Neave Summers
📍 Threave Garden & Nature Reserve NTS, 📸 Alison Lett
📍 Inveresk Lodge Garden NTS, 📸 Ildi
📍 Arduaine Garden NTS, 📸 Kathi
📍 Pitmedden Garden NTS, 📸 Pauline
📍 Geilston Garden NTS, 📸 Rachel
📍 Branklyn Garden NTS, 📸 Sarah Maria
📍 Inverewe Garden & Estate NTS, 📸 Beatrice Roat
📍 Greenbank Garden NTS, 📸 Jim Whyteside
13/07/2024
5 magical castles to explore this summer. How many of these have you visited?
🏰 Craigievar Castle
🏰 Brodie Castle
🏰 Drum Castle
🏰 Crathes Castle
🏰 Fyvie Castle
12/07/2024
In this week's episode of , a podcast from the National Trust for Scotland, Jackie Bird discovers the true story behind Whisky Galore – a tale immortalised on page and screen.
Hear how the real islanders of Eriskay made the most of the unexpected arrival of the SS Politician, and the 22,000 cases of whisky on board the stranded cargo ship (two valuable bottles of which are kept in Canna House!) 🥃
Listen:
🎧 Spotify: https://brnw.ch/21wLg41
🎧 Apple: https://brnw.ch/21wLg40
11/07/2024
St Kilda is the only dual UNESCO World Heritage Site in the UK, one of only 39 in the world.
The archipelago consists of the main island of Hirta, along with Dun, Soay and Boreray, and the sea stacks Levenish, Stac an Armin and Stac Lee – the highest in Britain.
The islands are internationally recognised for their birdlife, home to nearly one million seabirds including the largest colony of puffins in the UK. The world’s largest colony of gannets also nests on the sea stacks and Boreray.
St Kilda is no less famous for its human history. A community existed here for at least 4,000 years, exploiting the dense colonies of gannets, fulmars and puffins for food, feathers and oil.
The final 36 islanders were evacuated in 1930. St Kilda is now uninhabited and visitors can brave the weather to sail to these islands at the edge of the world for the experience of a lifetime.
📸 Stephen Hiltner, Marta, Kim & Del Hogg
Scotland boasts some of the world’s most spectacular hill walks with our footpaths winding through wild and iconic landscapes.
Yet, these trails face a myriad of challenges – from unpredictable weather exacerbating erosion to increased visitor numbers taking a toll – with only a team of five ensuring our path network remains accessible and in good condition.
It’s a monumental task but to do nothing risks lasting damage to our countryside and its vulnerable biodiversity.
We want to protect our country’s wild places for everyone, but can only do that if our footpaths remain fit for purpose – support our Footpath Fund, and help make a difference in safeguarding the national natural treasures of Scotland. > https://brnw.ch/21wLaRY
07/07/2024
Meet the Makers! Sandra Colamartino, founder of Quirky Chocolate, shares more about the creation of her artisanal chocolate which combines beautiful design and delicious chocolate – hit the link in our comments to read more.
06/07/2024
Did you know that we care for over four hundred islands and islets, several of which are home to some of the world’s most important seabird colonies?
Scotland’s islands are a paradise for nature enthusiasts; wild, pristine, untamed, isolated, otherworldly – the journey alone is an adventure, with wonders to be found in the seas, skies and coastline.
If you’re seeking an island adventure this summer, save these four cared for by the National Trust for Scotland.
📍 Mingulay, 📸 John MacEachen
📍 St Kilda, 📸 Stephen Hiltner
📍 Fair Isle, 📸 Jennifer Daley
📍 Staffa, 📸 Helena Bach
05/07/2024
is back! In the first episode of Season 9, Jackie Bird finds fashion stories from Georgian Edinburgh.
She's joined by curator, Antonia Laurence-Allan, and historian, Sally Tuckett, at The Georgian House NTS – a fascinating property that's just launched an exciting new exhibition centred on renowned artist, Allan Ramsay, and the role fashion played among the movers and shakers of the time.
🎧 Spotify: https://brnw.ch/21wL8EV
🎧 Apple: https://brnw.ch/21wL8EU
02/07/2024
Don't miss our award-winning Love Scotland podcast with host Jackie Bird.
Delve deep into the fascinating detail of Scotland's history, places and famous figures as Jackie chats to a wonderful array of guests, including Hollywood stars (like Sam Heughan 😍), authors, and a range of experts on all things Scotland!
Listen and follow for free now:
🎧 Spotify: https://brnw.ch/21wL4Rw
🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://brnw.ch/21wL4Rv
01/07/2024
5 places in our care to visit on your next adventure in Fife.
📍 Royal Burgh of Culross, 📸 Rachel Woods
📍 Hill of Tarvit, 📸 Welcome to Fife
📍 Kellie Castle, 📸 Jacob Murray
📍 Falkland Palace, 📸 Nicole
📍 Balmerino Abbey, 📸 Victoria Stewart
30/06/2024
We know the places in our care hold memories of those that we love – of time spent together, and cherished adventures. You can honour these special moments by dedicating a view in their memory with your gift supporting our conservation work across Scotland.
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Opening Hours
| Monday | 09:00 - 17:00 |
| Tuesday | 09:00 - 17:00 |
| Wednesday | 09:00 - 17:00 |
| Thursday | 09:00 - 17:00 |
| Friday | 09:00 - 17:00 |