Perth - Scone Palace

Scone Palace (2mi/3.2km to the north of Perth) is situated near the old but now non-existent abbey of Scone where Scottish monarchs from Kenneth II to James IV were crowned. In the ninth century Kenneth MacAlpin chose Scone as the royal residence and brought the Scottish coronation stone ("Stone of Scone") here, but in 1297 Edward I took it to Westminster Abbey in London where it has remained.

The stone was once placed on Mote Hill, a spot where, according to legend, earth from all parts of the kingdom had been scattered. The major part of the palace was built at the beginning of the 19th C and it is now the seat of the Earls of Mansfield, whose ancestors are shown in the portraits which line the Long Gallery. Porcelain from Meissen, Sèvres and Derby, fine Chippendale furniture, 17th and 18th C ivory carvings and some extremely unusual papier mâché objets d'art (c1730) by the Parisian Martin brothers are the principal art treasures on view inside. The surrounding parkland boasts a number of rare trees.