Kinneil House and Estate

At its heart stands Kinneil House, once a home of the Dukes of Hamilton. It dates back to the 16th century, when James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran and Regent of Scotland, began a decade of building here in 1545. Inside are painted rooms from the 16th and 17th centuries, said to be among the finest in Scotland. In a field west of the house is the Roman fortlet on the Antonine Wall, the only one on the Wall whose remains can still be seen, its outline marked out in stone and timber posts. On the way you pass the ruins of the old Kinneil church, and behind the house stands the roofless cottage where James Watt worked on his early steam engine. The parkland is free and open all year, and the house opens for guided tours on summer Saturdays, best booked ahead.