Malling House

Explorer Tom Inchmahome Priory requires a boat trip, which is a fine way to tell your ordinary worries to wait on the shore. On an island in the Lake of Menteith, Augustinian canons began their house around 1238. The church ruins and old trees still make the place feel set apart, though its most famous visitor was a four-year-old queen who needed far more than peace and quiet. After the Scots lost the Battle of Pinkie in 1547, Mary Queen of Scots was brought here for safety with her mother. She stayed only about three weeks; later tradition attached her name to a boxwood bower on the island. Look beyond that royal episode at the chapter house, where the stone effigy of Walter Stewart and his wife Mary shows them turned towards each other in an unusually tender embrace. The canons' church, with its grand processional doorway, had centuries of daily work before tourists arrived by boat. The priory changed after the Reformation, and parts of its stone were reused. Sir Walter Scott's writing later helped draw visitors to the island. It is tempting to pretend every old tree witnessed the young queen, but the real mix of monastic life, shelter and later memory is richer than a tidy legend. A small motor boat carries visitors from Port of Menteith; its twelve seats make booking wise. The priory is closed on 24 and 25 October 2026, then the seasonal boat is due to run until 31 October before winter closure. Entry including the boat is charged. Visitors must climb in and out of the boat and cross rough island paths; some ruins are fenced for conservation. Check the day's sailing before setting off. The crossing is short, but it takes you a long way into the story.