A family living in Scotland's oldest inhabited house once visited by Mary Queen of Scots will open its doors to the public.
Traquair, near Peebles, dates back to 1107 but has had the same family residing in it since 1491.
The home on the Scottish border has not been open to the public in over half a century, but will open this weekend for the summer seasons.
Visited by 27 monarchs over its 900-year history, Traquair has been home to the Stuart family for nearly 600 of those and acted as a Catholic stronghold during the Jacobite rebellion.
Bonnie Prince Charlie is also known to have visited to ancient hunting lodge in 1745 to gather troops for the rebellion.
After his visit, the 5th Earl promised the estate's ornamental gates would not be re-opened until the Stuarts returned to the throne.
The country's doomed monarch Mary Queen of Scots also visited Traquair two centuries earlier in 1566, with the King's Room where she stayed still possessing relics belonging to her.
The house opens again on Saturday, April 1, with current owner and 21st Lady of Traquair Catherine Maxwell-Stuart anticipating around 30,000 visitors to come from all over the world.
It last opened to the public around the time of her birth 58 years ago, and has 4,500 acres of land, a huge maze and a secret staircase.
Mum-of-three Mrs Maxwell-Stuart said: "It started as a hunting lodge for kings and queens of Scotland.
"Then it became a fortified tower and manor house. The last addition was in 1694 so it is unchanged since the 1700s."
Among the house's many hidden secrets are priest holes - tiny concealed spaces where Catholics would be hidden to avoid persecution.
"It has 900 years of Scottish history inside," Mrs Maxwell-Stuart added.
"It was just about open when I was born, so it's kind of unusual when it's not open. It is nice and peaceful in winter.
"We've got a big maze at the back of the house but we don't have formal gardens. We've got historic woodland."
The Traquair Maze is Scotland's largest topiary maze, planted with 1,500 Leylandi Cyprus trees and covering over half an acre.
Although planted in 1981, the maze suffered from a harsh winter in 1983 and was instead replanted with hardier beech trees which has added colour to the labyrinth.
"We attract around 30,000 visitors a year, from all over," Mrs Maxwell-Stuart added.
"The Stuarts were very strong Jacobites, and unusually, very strong Catholics.
"It was very dangerous, there are priest holes in the house."
