newhailes

The house can only be viewed with a guide (tour approx 1 hr). Our guide had a tremendous amount of knowledge and was very interesting to listen to. The property has been kept watertight and any building work required has been carried out, otherwise the House is in the same state as when it was taken over by the National Trust. I found this really interesting as you got a better idea of the decor and furnishings.

My wife and I visited the house over the Bank Holiday weekend. It had been in the Dalrymple family for 300 years. The house was gifted to the National Trust for Scotland in lieu of death duties.As the owners could not keep up the cost of maintaining the property, the NTS has spend millions on ensuring that the house is water proof. For many years the house has remained unchanged by the owners. The Trust has spent many years restoring a lot of the original rooms. Most of the rooms have the original paint from the 18th century.We had a guided tour Which lasted approx. 75 minutes. The guide was excellent in explaining the family history and how the house is being gradually restored to how it was went it was built. The family never through any think away so some of the original house hold goods. The house, in the 18th century had the biggest private book collection with its own library. Sadly, it had to be sold as part the death duties. If the family could have afforded to modernise the house, all the wonderful original features would have been lost.In some respect it's a shame the a house that has been in the family for generations, is no longer the case. At least it was not sold to a developer who would of ripped out the heart of such a wonderful asset to the heritage of Scotland.The NTS have done a fantastic restoration on the house & will need to spend more to continue to do so.We both really enjoyed the visit & highly recommend that, if you are in the, make a detour.

My husband and I visited here today as it was pouring down and it was something to get us out of our tent.We had to wait for the tour of the house as you cant walk round alone, but a stroll in the grounds soon filled the time. We met our guide John and were soon under his spell. What a lovely man, his passion for the place is so obvious. His knowledge of dates and the history of the family is amazing. There was one young girl in our group who he engaged from the beginning making the whole tour something she will always remember as being fun for her without all the boring grown ups.Although its a national trust property do not expect it to be lovingly restored to exacting standards, in fact the house has been deliberately unrestored and left as it was handed over by the last family member who had lived there. This gives the house something special about it, as you feel like you are walking around a home that has been lived in and not just some roped off stately home. Its a sad thing that you cannot take photos around the house as it is crammed with the most interesting things to look at. We could not give the grounds the time they deserve as we were in the aftermath of hurricane Bertha and so it was raining a lot! But the bits we did do were very nice indeed; A very enjoyable afternoon and a gem that shouldnt be missed. Thank you John for an excellent tour, your an asset to the Scottish National Trust thats for sure.

This is a tremendous experience, seeing a faded "stately" home as it was actually lived in up until just a few years ago, Downton this is not! You can get to look behind closed doors apparently on the last Thursday of the month which would be even more interesting. Would have liked to have explored the grounds a bit more, but we ran out of time

Visited Newhailes during a short holiday break in Scotland and was absolutely enchanted by it. The walks through the pathways around the grounds, which are in the process of a gradual make-over, the Shell House etc., were really delightful. Children would love these pathways, trees, squirrels etc. The guide who took us around the house was Liz who, in my opinion, gave the best, most informative, sometimes humorous, easily understood talk on the building, grounds and ancestry of the inhabitants I'd ever listened to! The small cafe with outdoor tables was all we needed and the 'roomy' toilet facilities were 'different' to the usual. The small shop, manned by another lovely lady, had quite a few attractive and new items for sale - at reasonable prices. All in all it was an absolute joy to visit and fired your imagination to want to find out more about the place. I'm not sure if children would appreciate the house but certainly would love the paths through the grounds. I would definitely recommend .

This is a great historic country house, almost unaltered, which you are shown around by an engaging and well-informed guide.

As part of a small group we recently had a guided tou of this unique house with the Curator. The National Trust of Scotland have recently spent £12 million in conserving this property, most I would think on the new roof. The house is relatively small as it is on one room wide. However, the contents do show a different age to our own From a professional view I did have a business connection with the house from the 1970's and this made the visit all the more interesting.

I've long meant to visit Newhailes and finally got round to it and I'm so glad I did. The house is a wonderful time capsule and the NTS' policy of conservation rather than restoration preserves the long history of Newhailes in a sensitive and illuminating manner. There is a good audio-visual introduction in the reception complex housed in the former stables and the house visit is by guided tour. Our guide was knowledgeable and informative. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit. The policies are extensive and a delight to wander through. There is a shop and a decent cafe on site.

Having visited numerous NTS properties Newhailes is the only one that left us feeling a bit disappointed. It was made clear that the NTS has prioritised preservation rather than restoration in this case but it was sad to see how faded the grandeur has become. We understand that full restoration would require substantial funding but we worry how far the decay might progress otherwise. This is a real shame because Newhailes is such a historically important property, particularly given its strong links with the Enlightenment. The real plus point was the wonderful tour provided by our guide, John Knox. He made the visit worthwhile. Had we rated the property solely on his performance we would have given it a resounding 5.

A short bus ride away from the centre of Edinburgh, and you think you are in the middle of the country. The display about Sir James Dalrymple and the part he played in Enlightenment Edinburgh is well done, and the video introduction to the house itself is fascinating. The house itself is a really good example of the 'repair as much as you need, but as little as possible' approach, and it works (if it had been down to me, I'd have replaced the Victorian windows, but I understand why that hasn't been done). i'm normally wary of guided tours, but the constraints of the house means that it's necessary here, and our guide on Saturday was superb, giving as much information as needed, but not too much unless asked. And she showed she was very knowledgeable indeed when questions were indeed asked. Altogether a very worthwhile visit

We visited on a Saturday afternoon, in a big family group including two children. When we arrived we had about an hour to wait before the next tour started, so we had a walk around the extensive grounds. Despite being on the verge of an urban area it felt like we were out in the country. The house itself is a fascinating glimpse into the life of a property and the generations who lived in it. There will be questions over whether the place should be fully restored or left as it is, pretty much as it was when it was handed over to the National Trust. I liked the faded glamour of the rooms and being left to imagine how it looked in its pomp. The tour guide (didn't get his name, unfortunately) was excellent, very knowledgable and engaging.After the tour we had a picnic in the grounds then a look round the shop. A smashing day out!

visited newhailes house today had a lovely time. the house was fantastic a real jem the tour guide was really nice and new what he was talking about lots of imformation about the house and the people who lived there a must see

The house has to be visited on a guided tour. I am not normally keen on guided tours, but this one was very good. It took just under an hour and a half but was so well done it seemed much quicker! It is well worth booking ahead as it can get busy. The house is preserved rather than refurbished, which is interesting. There is a good cafe and the grounds are worth waliking around as well. Allow 2-3 hours, or more if you plan to use the cafe.

A well preserved property showing life as it was, snapshot style. There are no holds barred with the preservation rather than conservation. It is a bit of a shock at first however it is refreshing to see this rather than everything being pristine. The people who lived here were real people with chipped cups the same as the rest of us. No wandering round though - guided tours only but it is worth it because the tour guides (all volunteers) know what they are talking about. It's a pity about the library books but we can hold out hope for their return. Did not have time to wander in the grounds but they looked lovely and I reckon you could spend all day there.

Newhailes is a smallish country house on the outskirts of Edinburgh (bus 30 from the city centre) which features many original items. Unlike many other such houses, Newhailes has never had a make-over so you see many things, warts and all, just as they were left. Tours of the house depart reception every half hour, and last about one and a half hours. Our guide, John, was very knowledgeable and enthusiastically took us through the house explaining its history and a little something about the personalities of those who had built, lived and visited the house since its erection. Unfortunately we were a little pressed for time so was unable to tour the grounds, but judging by the number of cars in the car park it's obviously a very popular place.