Overview
Cross Scotland’s only lake to explore a peaceful, wooded island chosen as a monastic sanctuary. Robert the Bruce sought solace at Inchmahome Priory and Mary Queen of Scots found safety here as a child.
Walter Comyn founded the priory for Augustinian canons around 1238. Much later, long after monastic life had ended, Sir Walter Scott revived the island’s popularity. His Romantic novels and a new railway brought tourists flocking to the area in the 1800s.
Please note that we are currently carrying out essential conservation works at Inchmahome Priory to ensure future generations can enjoy this site. In doing so we keep traditional skills alive.
What to see and do
- Soak up the idyllic setting as you approach Inchmahome Priory by boat
- Explore the special island where Mary Queen of Scots found sanctuary aged four
- Look for the boxwood bower on the site of the original that Mary is said to have planted
- Admire finely decorated features like the processional doorway of the church
- Enter the chapter house, which now houses stone memorials including a rare double effigy of a couple embracing
- Take time to walk around this haven of peace, abundant with wildlife and flowers
- Take our fun fact-finding quiz while exploring the priory.
