The Gargoyles of Gargunnock will be performing at Kinneil House this weekend

Stirlingshire singing group The Gargoyles of Gargunnock will be performing at the imposing venue, as part of a free open day.

Visitors can step inside the mansion – and enjoy the music – from 1-4pm on Saturday, August 27 (last admission 3.30pm). The event has been organised by the charities The Friends of Kinneil and Historic Environment Scotland.

Maria Ford from The Friends said: “The Gargoyles specialise in renaissance and medieval music and seem a perfect fit for the House, which dates back to the 15th century and boasts some of the best renaissance wall paintings in Scotland.”

She added: “The group appeared at Kinneil last year and were a real hit with visitors. We’re hoping for similar success this weekend. It will be worth coming along.”

Helen Rowell from the Gargoyles of Gargunnock said: "Kinneil is a wonderful old building and we’re delighted to be singing in the House.”

The Gargoyles formed in 2004 as an amateur acapella folk group.

Helen - with her fellow group members Zoe Fouracre and Elizabeth Wilkinson - says the Gargoyles are "wandering minstrels". The ladies – who don period outfits for performances - are based in the picturesque village of Gargunnock, around four miles from Stirling.

Helen said: “We became medieval singers by accident when we agreed to perform at the Border Reivers Festival in Hawick five years ago and then discovered it was a period dress event! Since then we have sung to thousands of people at many festivals and events throughout Scotland."

She added: "We sing songs from 13th to 17th centuries - about love and war, drinking and lust, religion and nature. "We have sung in venues from palaces to battlefields, from old folks’ homes to community centres, from pubs to chapels and from kirks to beer tents. We research and make our own outfits and have a range from the early through late medieval and renaissance periods."

To find out more about Kinneil House open days, please visit kinneil.org.uk