Castles and Churches, Historic Battles, Knights Templar, Rosslyn Chapel


	Chapels, Churches, Abbeys & Cathedrals Within an hour’s drive of Orchard House there are literally hundreds of places of worship from the tumbledown medieval chapels nearby, with their Knights Templar connections, to magnificent city cathedrals with soaring spires.



		They are all waiting to be explored and marvelled at. Most are still in use as places of worship but almost all are accessible and most have graveyards attached with sometimes fascinating gravestones. These graveyards are an extremely useful source of information if you want to explore your family history or genealogy.


	Orchard House lies two miles from the little village of Temple. During the 13^th and 14^th centuries this was known as Balantradoch, and was the Scottish headquarters of the Knights Templar. There is still the shell of Temple Church to look at and a number of other locations nearby connected to the Knights Templar which are well worth a visit. Rosslyn Chapel is only a few minutes drive from Orchard House and is a “must see”. Being so close you will be able to visit at times when the Chapel is not so crowded. We are preparing a heritage trail of Midlothian’s ecclesiastical buildings called “A Holy Place”. Until this is available we will be pleased to advise and assist you in devising a tour of the many holy places nearby