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Dryhope Tower in sunshine, a roofless stone tower house with a railed platform on top, bicycles at its foot and St Mary's Loch and Dryhope farm beyond.
Scottish Borders

Dryhope Tower

A ruined 16th-century tower house of the Scotts near the foot of St Mary's Loch.

Welcome

Climb the metal stair inside Dryhope Tower and you come out at the top of the ruin, looking out over St Mary's Loch.

In its day the tower stood three or four storeys high, with a walled courtyard of buildings around it. This was the home of Mary Scott, the Flower of Yarrow, whose story is told in the old ballad The Dowie Dens of Yarrow. In 1576 she married Walter Scott of Harden, the Border reiver remembered as Auld Wat. Before you climb, look for the openings in the walls that were made for guns, and the arched stone ceiling over the lowest floor. On a fine day, bring a flask and take your time at the top. It makes a lovely pause on a walk round the loch.

A short drive awayThe Gordon ArmsA family-run restaurant with rooms in an old coaching inn in the Yarrow Valley, with seasonal Borders cooking and just seven tables.7 min by roadSee itThe Gordon Arms in the Yarrow Valley, a long whitewashed coaching inn with dormer windows and tall chimneys under a blue summer sky, green hills rising behind.
Before you go

You can visit at any reasonable hour.

Getting there
Walk in from the Southern Upland Way, a short detour from the path, rather than through Dryhope farm.
A longer walk
The Dryhope circular carries on along the Way to Blackhouse Tower, where James Hogg was a shepherd in the 1790s, and back by the road: 9.6 km, or 6 miles, with 100 m of climb. Take care on the A708 for the last stretch.

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Where it is

At Dryhope, north of the A708, TD7 5LF.

Close byThe places nearest the tower, by road.
  1. Loch cradled between steep, grassy hills under a heavy grey skyLoch SkeenThe highest loch in the Southern Uplands, holding Britain's rarest fish.10 miles 16 min by road
  2. White harled tower house with turrets overlooking a lawn and flowerbedTraquair HouseScotland's oldest inhabited house, near Innerleithen, home of the Stuarts since 1491, visited by 27 monarchs, with its own brewery and maze.11 miles 21 min by road
  3. Grey Mare's TailGrey Mare's TailSixty metres of water off a hanging valley, on the road from Moffat to Selkirk.11 miles 17 min by road
  4. Kailzie GardensKailzie GardensGardens near Peebles, with a walled garden, restored glasshouses, woodland walks by the Kailzie Burn and a laburnum arch.16 miles 29 min by road
  5. Pink-harled kirk with bellcote tower overlooking a gravestone-dotted churchyardStobo KirkA small church near Peebles, much of it built around 1120, on a site said to go back to St Mungo, who is said to have baptised Merlin nearby.23 miles 40 min by road
  6. Dawyck Botanic Garden, Scottish BordersDawyck Botanic GardenOne of the world's great arboretums, near Stobo in the Tweed valley, part of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, with rare trees from around the world.25 miles 45 min by road
Directions
The Gordon Arms in the Yarrow Valley, a long whitewashed coaching inn with dormer windows and tall chimneys under a blue summer sky, green hills rising behind.RestaurantsThe Gordon Arms2.9 miles
The Yarrow Stone, a grey slab spotted with lichen, inside its wooden enclosure beside a farm track, with an information board in front and green hills behind.AttractionsYarrow Stone5.3 miles
A grey stone farmhouse with several chimneys stands against rolling hills, a wildflower meadow in the foreground.YarrowThe ScullerySleeps 2 · 6.1 miles
Cocoa Black in Peebles, a stone building with its name across the gable and dark shopfront windows, on the corner by Cuddy Bridge, with a church steeple behind.CafeCocoa Black17 miles
Roofless stone chapel ruin with a pointed arch window and gravel floorAttractionsCross Kirk, Peebles17 miles
Turreted castle above a winding river, surrounded by dense woodland and hillsAttractionsNeidpath Tunnel and Castle18 miles

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The Daily for 23 October, from Scotland with love. Aerial view of a concrete road bridge with angled supports spanning a sea loch, twin cloud-wrapped mountain peaks rising behind autumn-coloured hills.

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Stay nearby

Places to stay near the tower, and when each is next free.

A grey stone farmhouse with several chimneys stands against rolling hills, a wildflower meadow in the foreground.The Scullery
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Yarrow
  • 5 miles from Dryhope Tower
Free 13–15 NovWilderkin Cabin
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Carlops
  • 20 miles from Dryhope Tower
Free 11–13 NovPlaces to stayEvery stay in the Scottish BordersAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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