Visitors are once again being invited to explore the historic Kinneil House in Bo’ness, where Saturday guided tours and walks are resuming from the beginning of April for the 2025 season.
Regular indoor tours of the house will be available every Saturday from 5 April until the end of September (except 31 May and 6 September when the house will be closed for car shows in the estate, and also 5 July and 27 September which will have different special opening events with details to be confirmed).
Indoor tours will be available at 10am, 11am, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm and will last approximately 45 minutes. It is recommended to book tickets in advance on the Historic Environment Scotland (HES) website, up to 15 minutes before the relevant tour time. Specific tour dates/times can sometimes book up – limited availability. Tickets can now also be purchased at the door (please note – *card* payments only, there are currently no cash facilities), however availability cannot be guaranteed if a specific tour time is already fully booked up. All enquiries about the indoor tours should be directed to HES.
To complement the indoor tour, the Friends of Kinneil will also offer a free volunteer-led outdoor walk on most Saturdays (*Note – not 30 August or 6 September) at 12 noon, so that visitors can see some of the additional historic features of Kinneil Estate and hear their many other stories. No booking is needed for the walks, which start from Kinneil Museum – just turn up.
When coming to Kinneil for tours, be sure to allow time to visit the adjacent free museum (run separately by Falkirk Council, situated in the estate’s old coach house) as well. On Saturdays when the house is open, the museum usually opens at 10am, earlier than its normal advertised opening hours (daily except Tuesdays, 12.30-4pm). The main visitor toilet is also located in the museum, not in the house.
Keep an eye out on our news page and on social media for details of added events which may take place from time to time throughout the year, and for other Kinneil-related features and articles.
Discover the site’s rich history which spans over 2,000 years. Whilst the house is only open on Saturdays during the season, the surrounding 200-acre parkland and free museum are open year-round.
Built next to the Antonine Wall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Kinneil was first mentioned as a place in a written source in 731 AD. From 1323, the Kinneil lands belonged to the wealthy and influential Hamilton family, including James Hamilton, who was Regent of Scotland during the early reign of his cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots, from 1543 to 1554 and then built the present house. Its rare 16th– and 17th-Century wall paintings are considered among the finest of any house in Scotland and are one of the highlights for visitors. See also the re-imagined late mediaeval kitchen. On the top floor of the house is a special exhibition about the Antonine Wall. Note that access to the upper floors is via the spiral stairway only – unfortunately there are no lifts.
The remains of James Watt’s workshop, where his first steam engine was developed, can also be explored at the estate, as well as the site of a Roman fortlet on the Antonine Wall, and multiple layers of other history.
Watch this short film showcasing just some of the things to see and discover at Kinneil House:
Kinneil 
You must be logged in to post a comment.