Charles and Camilla to tour Scotland on charity trip

The Prince of Wales will embark on a royal tour of Scotland today, visiting a number of projects supported by his charities.

In the morning he will visit the newly restored town hall at Greenlaw in Berwickshire to meet volunteers and representatives of the Prince's Scottish Youth Business Trust, who were involved in the restoration project.

Charles, also known as The Duke of Rothesay in Scotland, will then go to Abbotsford House in Melrose, which was the former home and creation of Sir Walter Scott.

He will walk around the house and grounds and learn about the work being done to preserve, protect and improve the buildings.

Scott was one of the foremost literary figures of his day, and he was the first English-language author to have an international career.

The Waverley Novels, as Scott's collection of 26 fictional stories came to be named, were the world's first best-selling historical novels.

Abbotsford sits at the heart of the landscape that inspired the poetry and novels of Scott, and is a house that the author designed himself. As a result it is said to embody a physical representation of the Romantic Movement that he helped to create.

Charles will continue his visit at the Knockroon development site in Cumnock, Ayrshire, where he will be met by the Lord Lieutenant before laying a foundation stone to mark the beginning of the construction work.

The development of Knockroon on the land of Dumfries House Estate is expected to continue over a 25-year period, and is backed by The Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment.

The neighbourhood, described as a "model community for Scotland", has been designed to reflect the traditional architecture of Ayrshire.

It is believed that Knockroon will create employment in the area, as well as generating profits for donation to charitable causes, once loans associated with the development have been repaid.

The Prince will also meet young chefs from the Get Into Cooking programme at Dumfries House, which is run in partnership with the Prince's Trust and Braehead Foods.

And later in the day Camilla, Duchess of Rothesay, will host a reception at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, to mark the 15th anniversary of Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres.

The centres offer information and support for people suffering from cancer.