Hume Castle – Battlements, Views and Afternoon Tea in Kelso
A few hours.
The route
Hume Castle sits on a crag above the farmland of the Merse, its battlemented walls looking more like a desert fort than a Border stronghold, with a view that runs for miles in every direction.
Afterwards, drive down to Kelso for afternoon tea at Ednam House, a Georgian mansion on the banks of the Tweed. It's a lovely afternoon out for anyone who likes a bit of history with their scones.
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, 24 miles away. Sleeps 4.
Book afternoon tea at Ednam House in Kelso on 01573 224168 for about 2.30pm on a Monday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday, the only days it is served (12.30pm to 4pm), at £23 a head for two or more at the time of writing.
The day
Hume
A castle on a crag, a breezy walk round its walls, then down into Kelso for tea and cake by the Tweed.
About two and a half hours
Hume Castle
An attraction
Hume Castle stands on a crag above the village of Hume, three miles south of Greenlaw. Park in the car park below and climb the steps. The battlemented walls were built around 1770 as a folly, on the line of the real medieval castle of the Homes, which the English took in 1547 and Cromwell's troops blew up in 1651. Walk round inside them and out to the viewpoint at the south-west corner. On the night of 31 January 1804 a sergeant on watch here mistook charcoal burners' fires for an invasion beacon and lit Hume's, setting off the Great Alarm across southern Scotland. It's free, with no staff or toilets. The top is exposed, so come on a dry, calm day and keep children close.
16 min by car
Ednam House
Afternoon tea
Afternoon tea is 16 minutes' drive south at Ednam House on Bridge Street in Kelso, a mansion of 1761 in gardens by the Tweed, with free parking for visitors. It's served on Mondays and from Friday to Sunday, 12.30pm to 4pm: finger sandwiches, savouries, warm scones with jam and clotted cream, and cakes, with tea or coffee, at £23 a head for two or more at the time of writing. It must be booked ahead. There are steps at the front door and a ramp in through the ballroom. If it's full, the Cream Chimneys on the Square does tea and cake every day until 3pm.
If it rains
Hume Castle is all outdoors on an exposed crag: in rain or a gale, see it from the car park and go straight on to Kelso, where Ednam House is warm and dry.
Where to stay
Photograph by Marcel cordewener via Google