Dalmeny House and Hopetoun House
Approx. Time: 2 hoursActivity Level: Easy to Moderate
These are two stately homes in the vicinity of Queensferry that can be visited. Dalmeny House, the home of the 7th Earl and Countess of Rosebery, was designed in 1815, and the architectural interest ranges from the Gothic splendour of the hammer-beamed hall to fan-vaulted corridors and the classical design of the main rooms. Within the house is a splendid array of paintings, furniture, tapestries, porcelain and other works of art from the Rosebery and Rothschild collections. The Napoleon Room contains paintings of the emperor, furniture used by him, and the Duke of Wellington's campaign chair.
The other stately home in the neighbourhood is Hopetoun House, the home of the 4th Marquess of Linlithgow. It has been described as Scotland's greatest Adam mansion. Set in a hundred acres of parkland, Hopetoun House has been the home of the Hope family ever since it was built in the early eighteenth century. Much of the original furniture and hangings made for these rooms survive today, and the family's art collection includes many works by famous painters. In the grounds there is a nature trail, herds of fallow deer and red deer, and a flock of rare St Kilda sheep (which are black and have four horns). There is a very pleasant walk of four-and-a-half miles through the Dalmeny Estate, with views of the Firth of Forth, between Queensferry and Cramond. At the Cramond end, there is a ferry across the River Almond.
Courtesy of the British Tourist Authority