mellerstain house

Markofltc

Adam at his best . Fabulous architecture and lovely grounds. On a personal note I would have liked to see more rooms but I fully appreciate the family still reside there. Staff were very welcoming and knowledgable and a visit is highly recommended.

Richard4850

Visited at long last after intending to do so many times and was not disappointed. Extensive well maintained gardens around a lovely house.The house felt comfortable .The highlight was the staff who were knowledgable, friendly and informative.The tearoom was a little bit antiquated but the girls there were helpful and the food tasty.

BlaineK322

In the house, there were endless things to delight the eye and engage the mind: furniture, paintings, memorabilia and pieces of art. The house has been kept in a welcoming, organised state so it's easy to move about and spend as much or as little time as one wishes. The outstanding feature of the place was the people who staffed each room ... all believed passionately about the house, the family, and the contents. They were welcoming, engaging and forthcoming with no end of stories and information, being locals themselves and long-associated with Mellerstain and the family. Gardens only peered at briefly; tea room large with nice food.

sonyck15

I was so pleased to find this across the border, while visiting Northumberland. The house is magnificent and the gardens are extensive and beautiful. Staff were welcoming and knowledgeable. We had a toddler with us and she was welcomed by all staff and we were made to feel comfortable.If you have a choice between this house and another nearby (which was desperately publicising the presence of ghosts) choose this one, you won't be disappointed.There are 4 floors to the house which I found impressive. There is also a free mini-guide for the house and another for the gardens.

820valp

Thanks to the warm humorous and very knowledgeable guides we spent a very enjoyable afternoon at Mellerstain House. The settling is so amazing, and the grounds too were superb. Perhaps the café could do with updating!! but the food we had was excellent + super ice cream!!!

scottishfisherlass

This is amazing Adam building. The guides are excellent. The house has beautiful grounds. I loved the lake. We had a lovely snack in the tea room. What a delightful young assistant. Well worth a visit.

PeterPedrJ

Large house probably by Robert Adam; odd that his father built the outlying wings first. Impressive. Well worth a visit. Grand grounds. Extensive picture collection, huntin' and shootin' andancestors. Just a bit cold.

Pashld

I have wanted to go here for years and today was an ambition come true and what is more it exceeded my wildest dreams. What a fantastic house, so much history, art, architecture, scenery it is all too much to take in. Several of the ladies of the house were very amazing in their own right and played a part in Scottish history. Marjorie one f the guides was a fount of knowledge as were some of the other ladies. You need at least an afternoon if not longer and be prepared to be amazed. My only disappointment was the mausoleum to the family was not well looked after and difficult to get to through long grass and nettles. Tidy this up and this would be a little corner of heaven on earth.

lavaird

Lovely Georgian house to visit in the Borders. Architecture by William and Robert Adam with lovely gardens. Still lived in by family so limited rooms available to look at but excellent knowledgeable room guides which made our visit very enjoyable. Had coffee and scone in café - nice venue but probably worst scone we have had!

CreedenceClearwater

We arrived early at the house, which wasn't yet open, so went for a cup of tea and a snack in the tea room, which was absolutely fine.When the house opened we were met by two very friendly house guides and this set the tone for the whole visit. There were a lot of rooms to see and the ladies on duty were very approachable, friendly and informative, and we learned a lot more about the house and family than we would have done by simply reading the leaflets.The ceilings are beautiful and if you are a fan of Adam architecture then this is the place to visit.The gardens and the views are also worth a mention.

Sagittarian_Guest

We visited Mellerstain recently whilst staying in the Borders. had a coffee in the tearoom as we were early arriving and then had a wander around the gardens fortunately the weather was good as you had to walk mostly on grass apart from the terraces in front of the house which were really at their best with roses and other summer flowers. We received the same instruction re tickets as other reviewers i.e. walk round the gardens and the pay for both when you go to enter the house[something to do with the tea room not having a card machine for payment]The house visit was well worth the wait to see so much work by the Adams in original condition. We found the guides very informative ,not the least bit pushy as has been suggested by others but then we were interested in the history and the ideas behind the room adornments.Interesting to note that there is a ramp for the entrance hall so that wheelchairs can visit most of the house something not always possible at old houses . We left very glad we had made the visit.

ianrdw

Many thanks for your recent review regarding your visit to Mellerstain. All customer feedback is greatly valued (both positive and negative), enabling the Trust to continually monitor the visitor experience at Mellerstain and action improvements where required. I am sorry you found your visit disappointing and confirm both comments regarding garden maps and tearoom staffing have been addressed.Garden maps have since been added to our website for visitors to read and/ or download and I hope to have hard copies available within the tearoom and main reception area within the near future.Staffing within the tearoom should indeed be a minimum of 2 and was programmed accordingly for this season. Regrettably due to genuine unforeseen circumstances last Friday, staffing dropped to 1, necessitating additional assistance from house staff where possible. I thank you again for your feedback and do hope you enjoyed the remainder of your trip to the Scottish Borders.

LDS009

Spent a lovely couple of hours going round the house and gardens. There are a lot of rooms to see and the guides were very informative without being too intrusive. You can learn a lot about the history of the house and the family who own it. The views from the house over the gardens are lovely and you can walk around here after your visit to the house. We had lunch in the tea room and would have to say i was not too impressed with this, better to have lunch elsewhere.All in all really enjoyed our visit and would recommend for an afternoon out.

anewall2

We visited the gardens and had a wonderful couple of hours wandering around, admiring the rhododendrons and azaleas which were in full bloom with incredible colour and smell. This is a real hidden gem but absolutely worth the trip. We were recommended it by a couple we'd met at Howick Hall gardens. The two gardens are similar and though Howick is more 'organised' and commercially minded we really enjoyed the beauty of Mellerstain.The grass paths were a little muddy in parts especially around the lake, so I'd suggest wearing some walking shoes, but that's always advisable when visiting a garden. The tea room was basic though fine. A limited range of sandwiches and toasties but that suited us fine. It was tasty and staff were friendly and nice.

TravelingSeagull

Mellerstain is a little disappointing and over priced for what you see. While yes It is an Adam house with beautiful plaster work and lots on interesting furniture there is as another reviewer said a certain sameness about all the rooms .There are large grounds but the area of actual gardens is very small and they lack paths meaning you spend a lot of time walking on grass - it rains a lot in scotland so wear suitable footwear and do the house first before you walk wet muddy shoes in as the rather sharp lady on the door will probably confiscate your shoes as well as your camera and bags. i understand not wanting flash photography but as an adult I can be trusted to hold my own camera not hand over several hundred pounds worth of camera to some stranger. The garden area at the Old Cottage is prettiest. I found the house much less interesting than many Scottish houses, although the guides within the house were well informed if a little to pushy.