House of Binns

Set in 105 hectares (260 acres) of beautifully landscaped parkland overlooking the River Forth, this 17th-century laird's house near Linlithgow has been the home of the Dalyell family for 400 years. The present house was built in 1612 by Thomas Dalyell, an Edinburgh merchant who had made his fortune at the court of King James VI and I in London.

In 1944, the Dalyell family gifted the house, its contents and the parkland, along with an endowment, to the National Trust for Scotland under its Country House Scheme, keeping the right of the family to live in the house.

The icing on the cake was getting to meet Sir Thomas Dalyell Loch, 11th Baronet born 1932), known as Tam Dalyell, is a British Labour Party politician who was a member of parliament in the House of Commons from 1962 to 2005. He represented West Lothian from 1962 to 1983, then Linlithgow from 1983 to 2005.

A great day and great weather.