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Newhailes House, a pale Palladian mansion with a double stair behind a lawn under a blue sky.
Lothian

Newhailes

A Palladian house of the Scottish Enlightenment at Musselburgh, home of the Dalrymples, with guided tours, woodland walks, a cafe and a playpark.

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Welcome

On the edge of Musselburgh, Newhailes is a Palladian house that played a prominent part in the Scottish Enlightenment, when it was home to the Dalrymple family.

It is now cared for by the National Trust for Scotland.

The house is seen on guided tours, and it is full of curiosities: rococo interiors, Italian marble fireplaces, a Chinese sitting room and a fine collection of paintings, gathered by generations of the family. Outside, the 18th-century designed landscape has woodland walks with views across the Forth, past a shell grotto, a tea house and the Ladies' Walk.

For children there is the Weehailes adventure playpark. The Stables Cafe serves lunch, and there is a gift shop, a second-hand bookshop and a potter at weekends. There are festivals, shows and a farmers' market through the year.

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Arrives at 5am every day.

A free morning email to see what’s on this week, catch up on what’s happening in Scotland and find somewhere new to go.

The Daily for 30 October, from Scotland with love. Aerial view of a teal-coloured lochan cupped in a forested hollow, a scree slope rising on one side and autumn-tinged pines ringing the shore.
A short drive awayCoade Stone ColumnsThree ornate pillars of Coade stone in a community garden on Portobello promenade, rescued from a garden in 1989 and put up again in 2006.8 min by roadSee itCoade Stone Columns
Before you go

Cafe, shops and playpark 9am to 5pm; house tours between 11am and 3pm; the estate open dawn to dusk.

Where
Musselburgh, EH21 6RY.
House
By guided tour.
Children
Weehailes Playpark.

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Where it is

On the western edge of Musselburgh, off the road to Edinburgh, EH21 6RY.

Close byMusselburgh.
  1. Rows of small boats resting on mudflats behind a harbour wallFisherrow HarbourThe old harbour at Musselburgh.1 mile 4 min by road
  2. The blue shopfront of Rising Tide Cafe on Portobello High Street, with blue chairs and round tables out on the pavement.Rising Tide Cafe1 mile as the crow flies
  3. Curved corner café "Kaffeine" on a wet street beneath tenement buildingsKaffeineA busy cafe in Musselburgh known for its breakfasts, brunches and a counter full of cakes, open every day.2 miles 5 min by road
  4. Woman standing between a gallery and Twelve Triangles bakery shopfrontThe Velvet EaselA gallery of contemporary Scottish art on Portobello High Street since 2013: painting, sculpture, ceramics, glass and jewellery.3 miles 8 min by road
  5. Empty plates and coffee cups on a wooden table overlooking a sandy beachThe Beach House, PortobelloThe cafe on Portobello promenade.3 miles 9 min by road
Directions
Three carved stone columns stand against rooftops and a distant church spireAttractionsCoade Stone Columns2.5 miles
Cyclist rides past a mural-painted pink kiosk on the promenade under coloured flagsAttractionsPortobello Promenade2.6 miles
Beachgoers and a dog beside a wooden groyne, kayaker paddling offshoreAttractionsPortobello Beach2.8 miles
Craigmillar Castle rising above rough grass in Craigmillar Castle Park.AttractionsCraigmillar Castle Park3.0 miles
Ruined stone castle wall with arched entrance and crumbling battlements under grey skyAttractionsCraigmillar Castle3.3 miles
Green shopfront of The Portobello Bookshop, number 46, with "We Are 2 Years Old" window artShoppingThe Portobello Bookshop3.4 miles
Water of Leith winds through Dean Village beneath timber-fronted tenements and stone wallsAttractionsAround Duddingston village3.4 miles
Cove shop front listing gifts, skincare and jewellery, covescotland.com signage aboveAttractionsPortobello’s High Street3.5 miles
Bottle-shaped brick kiln tower stands beside an information sign near the roadsideAttractionsPortobello Bottle Kilns3.5 miles

Recommend to a friend

Stay nearby

Places to stay near the house, and when each is next free.

A turreted sandstone building with conical spires catches the evening light above rooftops, a large pine tree standing beside it.The Scott Hotel
  • A hotel
  • In Edinburgh
  • 4 miles from Newhailes
Check datesA hotel studio room with a beige fitted kitchen unit and stainless sink beside a bed dressed in white and teal cushions, a wall of black-framed pictures above a patterned headboard.Old Town Chambers
  • To stay
  • In Edinburgh
  • 4 miles from Newhailes
Check datesA round table and chairs stand before tall curtained windows looking onto stone buildings, a sofa and mounted television to the right.Moment George IV Bridge
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Edinburgh
  • 4 miles from Newhailes
Check datesWest End Muse
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Lothian
  • 5 miles from Newhailes
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay in LothianAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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What we have written about it and more in Lothian.

ArticleNewhailes House, MusselburghArticleJanuary in Edinburgh
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