Booked into the Priory

The enchanting ruins of Inchmahome Priory stand on the largest of three islands in the Lake of Menteith. The priory was established around 1238 by a small community of Augustinian canons. Their founder and patron was Walter Comyn, Earl of Menteith, whose residence was on the adjacent island of Inch Talla. The secluded location offered the brethren isolation from the secular world, and tranquillity in which to carry out the worship of God. 

The island sanctuary functioned for over 300 years, offering solace not only to the canons but also to royal visitors. King Robert Bruce visited three times, and Mary Queen of Scots once, in 1547, when she was four. In 1560, the Protestant Reformation effectively brought monastic life at Inchmahome to an end.