Fast Castle
The fragments of a clifftop castle on a rocky promontory on the Berwickshire coast, first recorded in 1333 and reached by a steep path and a footbridge.
On a rocky promontory high above the sea, with cliffs of up to 300 feet all round, stand the last fragments of Fast Castle.
It is one of the most dramatic castle sites in Scotland, and one of the most exposed.
First recorded in 1333, the castle changed hands again and again between the Scots and the English. Margaret Tudor stopped here in 1503 on her way to marry James the Fourth, and Mary Queen of Scots stayed in 1566. It was destroyed after Flodden and rebuilt by the Homes, before passing to the Logans of Restalrig, who lost their lands in 1609 for plotting against James the Sixth.
The walk starts from a small car park near Dowlaw farm and drops about 400 feet over three quarters of a mile, ending at a concrete footbridge where the drawbridge once was. The path is steep and the drops are sheer, so take great care.
Open at any hour; a steep path of about three quarters of a mile from the car park at Dowlaw.
- Where
- The Berwickshire coast, NT 861 711.
- First recorded
- 1333.
- The walk
- Three quarters of a mile, 400 feet down.
Scotland, in print.
Every photograph commissioned, every word written by somebody who went. Printed twice a year, made in Scotland.
For further reading, before you go.