Take the Mary, Queen of Scots trail

On first glance, the young face in the painting looks hopeful. The woman’s body is relaxed, yet full of vulnerability; the jewel-studded outfit spectacular. It’s one of the undated studies of Mary, Queen of Scots in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh. And one presumably painted to capture her mood before the world fell in on her head, literally.

In a lifelong game of chess with her distant cousin, Elizabeth I, the troubled monarch — Scotland’s anointed ruler from 1542 to 1567 — was imprisoned for 18-and-a-half years and executed for treason. Not even Theresa May would go that far with Nicola Sturgeon.

The release of Mary Queen of Scots, starring Saoirse Ronan as the 18-year-old widow with stupendous cheekbones, and Margot Robbie as Queen Elizabeth, set off “Mary mania” in the UK. The release came hard on the heels of Outlaw King, Netflix’s retelling of the Robert the Bruce legend, stoking renewed interest in Scotland’s royal history.

Enough so to prompt anyone with a hankering to learn more about Mary’s life to follow in her footsteps with a downloadable map devised by Historic Environment Scotland.

Edinburgh Castle

The journey begins in Edinburgh, near Seacliff Beach and the ruins of Tantallon Castle in East Lothian where the Hollywood production was shot. Edinburgh’s connections with Mary go deeper than paintings on gallery walls. The Palace of Holyroodhouse is where the devout Catholic queen sparred with Protestant clergyman John Knox — and witnessed the fatal stabbing of her personal secretary, David Rizzio, by her husband Lord Darnley.

There’s lots to see, but just as much at Edinburgh Castle, where Mary gave birth to her son, James VI, and at the National Museum of Scotland. The highlights are a gold necklace, locket and pearl pendant known as the Penicuik Jewels. As Elizabeth burnt Mary’s belongings after her death, they’re among the few artefacts to survive.

Mary’s story began at Linlithgow Palace, where she was born. Only 20 minutes from Edinburgh by train, it’s a gorgeous, snaggletooth ruin, overlooking Linlithgow Loch. In spring light, with mist spooling across the water, it’s hard to improve on the palace for drama, especially when circumnavigating the loch by foot or kayak.

Tracing a finger north from the Lothians into Perthshire, there are good day trips from Edinburgh. You could drive to Falkland Palace, home to the oldest royal tennis court in Britain and where proto-feminist Mary once scandalised the royal court by wearing men’s attire in a match. Or stop at Kinross, where you’ll find Lochleven Castle, one of many said to be haunted by Mary’s restless soul.

In season, a boat ferries visitors across Loch Leven to the medieval keep, which bears the scars of a melancholic history. Mary spent a year imprisoned here, suffering a miscarriage and being forced to abdicate. Today the castle is in ruins but the real draw is the setting. The views of the Lomond Hills remain big and booming, and there are woodland walks through swathes of pink purslane.

While the Queen’s trail focuses on the melancholy and mystery of her life, it’s also easy to lose yourself in Perthshire, where castles rub up against heather-strewn properties and country estates. Gleneagles, a veteran of the hotel and golf scene, has received a multi-million-pound wardrobe upgrade of late. Less than 10 miles from Drummond Castle, where Mary spent some of her honeymoon, it offers some of the finest hospitality and food in Scotland (cue a Johnnie Walker and absinthe “Mary Queen of Scots” cocktail at The Century Bar). Barbour jackets and Hunter boots for grouse shoots and falconry are in, the courtly manners of Game of Thrones not so much.

From Gleneagles, pop to Huntingtower Castle, to see where Mary and Lord Darnley hid from James Stewart during a rebellion. Or go to Stirling Castle, where she was crowned Queen aged nine months. Delving west to Glencoe or north to Strathdon takes you to where scenes from the movie were shot.

In life, Mary was a mother, wife, widow, rival, prisoner and victim, and she remains a figurehead. Scotland was taken from Mary for ever — but in death she’s asserted more power over its landscape than anyone could imagine.