Hailes Castle – A Quiet Ruin by the Tyne and a Bakery Lunch
A few hours.
The route
Hailes Castle is one of the oldest stone castles in Scotland, a free and quiet ruin on a green bank above the River Tyne, where you can climb a timber stair and wander through arched doorways at your own pace.
Lunch is at Bostock, the bakery café on Phantassie Farm at the edge of East Linton, famous locally for its sourdough and sausage rolls.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The nearest of ours is Blue Cabin by the Sea in Cockburnspath, 12 miles away. Sleeps 4.
The day
East Linton
An hour among the walls of an old Hepburn stronghold above the Tyne, and lunch at a farm bakery just down the road.
About two hours
Hailes Castle
An attraction
Hailes Castle has a small car park beside it, just west of East Linton in the Tyne valley. The ruin stands on a bank above the river, its walls of red and grey sandstone still high. It was begun in the early 1200s and belonged to the Hepburns, whose most famous son, James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, the third husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, may have been born here. Cromwell's invasion in 1650 ended its days as a stronghold. Climb the timber stair, duck through the arched doorways and stand in the grassy court within the walls. It's free and open all year, with no staff or toilets, and dogs are welcome. Go in daylight, and mind the uneven ground and steps.
4 min by car
Bostock Bakery, East Linton
Lunch
Lunch is 4 minutes' drive east at Bostock Bakery, on Phantassie Farm at the edge of East Linton, where the bread is baked on site. Its café serves sourdough sandwiches, soup, grilled cheese and its own pork, almond and apple sausage rolls. It's open every day from 8.30am to 4pm. If it's busy, Votadini, a coffee shop on East Linton's High Street, serves food from Wednesday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm.
If it rains
Hailes is a roofless ruin with grass underfoot, so in rain keep the visit short and go on to Bostock, where the café is under a roof.
Where to stay