Scone Palace

4 of us booked on my phone during a visit to Scotland, disappointingly there didn't seem to be any concession rates so paid £20 per person and no way did we feel we got our moneys' worth. We only saw about 4 rooms and we're not permitted in the built to order Queen Victoria's bedroom as it was too small. Given there were 36 people on our tour, I can understand how we couldn't all crowd in there, but they could have let a few in at a time or at least opened the doors so you could peek in. The guide wore a mask though out and thats fair enough in these Covid times, but it made it impossible for me to lip read and as a deaf person it meant I missed sizeable chunks of the speeches. Given what I did hear, which was a dry as it could be, I clearly didn't miss much. Surely given the charges the guide could have worn either a visor or a mask with a clear plastic bit over the mouth as many other curators at attractions do. Any questions were met with either a blank look and an "I don't know" or an off hand remark. The food was mediocre and overpriced and precious little choice. There was far too much emphasis on dates and not enough focus on the who and the how, and the stone of destiny. They were preparing for a family wedding the coming weekend which may have explained the rushed feeling of the tour and the lack of rooms but for me it was a waste of money, They could learn a great deal from the tour of the House of Dun in Montrose, which was half the money and 4 times the value. It was also weird to have a hut at the entrance to the car park which meant each car had to stop and present the prepaid confirmation to be given wristbands and maps etc. Surely you could have parked up and had the hut at the entrance to the grounds? no wristband, no tour so it made little sense to have queues of cars and one person dealing with it all. So many improvements could be made and I speak as a retired tour guide, so know what 'good' looks like.

We were left a little underwhelmed and disappointed at our visit to Scone Palace.
We had booked in advance so we knew the prices were £20 palace and gardens entry and £10 for the gardens alone.
Given the price is at the very high end of historic homes we were naturally expecting a lot but left a little deflated after our visit.
My husband toured the palace with a guide whilst I walked the grounds with our dog.
The tour itself was detailed and the guide friendly and knowledgable but only a little time is spent on the story of the stone of destiny and the history of the crownings the majority of the tour talks of the Earls of Mansfield.
The grounds are extensive at over 100 acres and the trails are well marked out and easy to follow but overall a little bland, there was nothing growing in the kitchen garden even though it is listed as an attraction.
The staff were very friendly particularly in the shop and cafe, dogs are welcome at lunch to dine in a dedicated room, they even sell frozen yoghurt in the shops for dogs.
The cafe food was nice but nothing special and of course it’s tradition to eat a scone at scone but no clotted cream was available and the jam was low end plastic tubs, our toastie was plain white supermarket bread.
All in all a little more attention to detail in the quality and presentation of the food would make all the difference.
We were made to feel welcome and enjoyed aspects of our visit but wouldn’t visit again or take family and friends back
Unfortunately.

A very interesting guided tour by a very amusing and knowledgeable guide. Lots of little anecdotes and she managed amazingly when having to deal with one visitor who persisted on taking photos when it was not allowed. Lots of sanitizer available and regularly cleaned toilets so it felt COVID safe. Beautiful pinetum so many different types of trees. The highlight of the tour was the site of the Kings of Scotland's coronations and the place of the Stone of Scone . more wonderful details from our guide. Thank you for a lovely visit.

A couple of days ago we took the opportunity to visit Scone Palace and were impressed by this place. Now as a family, we love the experience of visiting new castles and this is a must see for those who are into their Scottish history as this place is known for being the place that crowned many Scottish kings for over 1500 years (including many iconic kings such as James I and Macbeth (more renowned for the Shakespeare play)).

Now like many places during the Covid-19 crisis booking to gain access into the grounds is essential and also for many other experiences such as the maze that is available for families and the castle tour itself. However, on the whole this is a really lovely place. A lot of places where you can socially distance including the gardens which are lovely and the tour, whilst personally not my favourite, was very informative and we had an amazing and funny guide leading the tour.

As such whilst it isn't our favourite it is a really good one and one I definitely should recommend for those who have never visited this castle. It is very easy to get to and a great day out for those wanting to visit Perth.

A rainy day in Perth lunch at Scone castle ticked lots of boxes. We booked online and that was fine. The castle itself was closed but we could walk in the gardens for free which was as pleasant as it can be in the drizzle. Anyway, the restaurant (not the coffee shop nearby), was decorated with loads of copper pots and an old wood stove. Really tasteful. The meal was a choice of 2 soups, 3 mains and 2 deserts. These were a big serving and just lovely. Bottomless coffee was included as well. We’ll be back when the castle is open. This was a really nice experience

We spent a wonderful afternoon in the grounds of this fabulous estate.. peacocks and red squirrels !!!
Open air cafe and plenty of room to wander highly recommend for anyone looking for a relaxing informative and peaceful day really worth a visit but take your time

20 quid for a guided we thought was a bit steep how wrong we were! We love visiting stately homes and castles and Scone Palace is up there with the best we have visited. Covid meant that only guided tours were the option and we are so glad we took the plunge. Jason a young guy that was our guide has so much information to impart, his enthusiasm and good humour kept our group of ten engaged throughout the hour long tour. Do not hesitate in booking a tour and a huge highlight for our group was the amazing painting of Belle and her 'sister'

Earlier today Wednesday 8th June 2022 my wife & I drove from nearby Auchterarder to Scone Palace with a view to visiting for the first time their dog friendly cafe as we will in October become owners of two Maltese Dogs.
Having not visited before with this view we hoped that as relative locals this visit to said cafe may become a regular visit once owner of the dogs.
However as it turned out to do the above we had to first purchase tickets to the grounds at £10 each. A very expensive coffee.
I appreciate that some form of control would be needed with regards to persons wandering around the grounds.
But I'm sorry to say we will not be returning which is a shame because as locals we would of been willing to provide our custom out of season if the cafe was open.

Tours of Scone Palace are only available with a guide (prebooked) and currently cost £20 pp. They last approx. one hour and cover only a small part of the palace. The guide was extremely knowledgeable, but a little formal and regimental!! The palace is beautiful and worth a visit, but I’m not sure you’d want to take the kids unless they are immaculately behaved- too pricey! (Maybe that’s why it’s expensive?!) You can visit the gardens only for a reduced price (around a tenner pp) and they are lovely. Dogs allowed on a lead.

Using lockdown to write some reviews of past places visited and Scone was a real favourite of ours.

We visited back in October ‘19 and were on a five day tour with our own guide who suggested as it was a beautiful day and we are fond of gardens and history, that we should visit Scone whilst passing South from Inverness.

Our guide John used to be a guide at Scone Palace and spoke highly of the house and gardens and said it was a must see and we are so glad he suggested it. Even better we had our own guide to take us around each room and explore the gardens with us and his knowledge was fantastic. I have to say the other guides employed by the palace were very friendly and had a good laugh and a joke with us and John.

It was excellent to have everything pointed out to us as I’m sure we’d have missed so much had we not had our own guide in the gardens for example or on the Boot Hill but the staff we spoke with were all very friendly.

Great paintings by David Wilkie, Ramsay and Martin amongst hundreds more and a really great collection. Nice clean toilets, stunning gardens and sunshine; what’s not to like?