Bowhill House
The Duke of Buccleuch's country house in the Ettrick valley near Selkirk, with a great art collection, landscaped grounds and a lake.
In the wooded Ettrick valley a few miles west of Selkirk, Bowhill is the Borders home of the Dukes of Buccleuch, whose family has owned it since 1747.
The house was begun in 1812 and grew through the 19th century into a long, graceful mansion above its lake and woods.
Sir Walter Scott, a kinsman of the family and a frequent guest, loved it so much that he called it Sweet Bowhill. Inside is part of the great Buccleuch Collection: paintings by Canaletto, Reynolds, Gainsborough and Raeburn, French furniture, fine porcelain and portrait miniatures, shown on guided tours.
Outside there are landscaped and wooded grounds, formal gardens and a lake. The house and grounds open on a seasonal pattern, so check Bowhill's website for this year's dates before setting out.
The house opens for guided tours on selected days, and the grounds through the spring and summer; check Bowhill's own website for this year's dates before you go.
- Where
- The Ettrick valley near Selkirk.
- Built
- From 1812.
- Collection
- Canaletto, Reynolds, Gainsborough.
Scotland, in print.
Every photograph commissioned, every word written by somebody who went. Printed twice a year, made in Scotland.
For further reading, before you go.