Hopetoun House

I've been keen to visit Hopetoun House for some time but it was proving very difficult to get tickets apparently due to the increase in interest after the location was used in the TV drama Outlander! So I was very pleased to last be going.        

Hopetoun House is on the outskirts of Edinburgh near South Queensferry.  It was designed originally by William Bruce in 1699 and then altered and extended by William Adam between 1721 and 1767. This included the addition of a facade with colonnades, north and south pavilions and grand state apartments to be used for entertaining and socialising.  The interior was completed by his sons John, James and Robert and has remained virtually unchanged for three centuries.

King George IV visited Scotland in 1822 and was the first reigning monarch to do so in almost 200 years.  Sir Walter Scott organised the visit in a splendid pageant style!   The King's state visit closed on 22 August 1822 with a brief visit to Hopetoun House where elaborate arrangements had been made and crowds waited for him in the rain.  Records show that he arrived at 13:15 and that after being received by the Earl and Countess he dined sparingly on turtle soup and three glasses of wine!  At 15:00 he made his way by carriage to Port Edgar just outside South Queensferry where the royal yacht awaited to return him to England.