Hidden Scotland
Sign in
Dumfries and Galloway

Gilnockie Tower

The Armstrongs' tower on the Esk, in what was once the Debatable Land.

Visit websiteCall
Welcome

Gilnockie stands above the Esk at Hollows, a couple of miles north of Canonbie, in country that was neither Scotland nor England for most of the sixteenth century and was called the Debatable Land because nobody could agree whose it was.

Into that gap rode the reivers, and the Armstrongs were the most formidable of them. The tower is theirs, and it is bound up with Johnnie Armstrong of Gilnockie, who was hanged with his men by James V in 1530 - an execution that has been argued over and balladed ever since, and which Walter Scott did a good deal to romanticise. The clan owns it again now and runs it as the Clan Armstrong Centre: four floors of reiver history up a turnpike stair, with a room given over to Neil Armstrong, whose family came from these parts.

A short drive awayFirst BiteA cafe on the High Street in Langholm, with home cooking, breakfasts, generous lunches, cakes and a courtyard, and dogs welcome.8 min by roadSee itCafé counter with chalkboard menus, cake display and "First Bite" sign above the till
Before you go
How long
An hour to two
Cost
By ticket
Getting there
Signed off the A7 at Hollows; parking at the tower.

Opening hours

Their website
Monday
10am–4pm
Tuesday
10am–4pm
Wednesday
10am–4pm
Thursday
10am–4pm
Friday
10am–4pm
Saturday
10am–4pm
Sunday
10am–4pm
Where it is

At Hollows, two miles north of Canonbie on the A7.

Close byThe rest of Dumfries and Galloway, near at hand.
  1. Barn owl flying low over green hillside with wings fully spreadTarras Valley Nature Reserve4 miles7 min by road
  2. White arched footbridge crossing a wooded river gorgeDuchess BridgeA cast-iron footbridge of 1813 over the Esk, and a short walk through the woods.5 miles9 min by road
  3. Gretna Green Old Blacksmiths ShopGretna Green Old Blacksmiths ShopThe smithy at the crossroads where the runaway marriages were made.10 miles14 min by road
  4. Wooden sculpture of two clasped hands rising against a pale skyThe Clasping Hands, Gretna GreenA tall sculpture of two clasped hands in the free sculpture garden at Gretna Green, a symbol of marriage in the village famous for weddings.10 miles14 min by road
  5. Whitewashed cottage with black-trimmed windows, an old plough, and Saltire flying aboveGretna GreenThe first village over the border, where runaway couples married at an anvil.10 miles14 min by road
Directions
Café counter with chalkboard menus, cake display and "First Bite" sign above the tillCafeFirst Bite4.6 miles
The Milnholm Cross, a tall stone cross inside iron railings in a roadside field, green hills behind.AttractionsMilnholm Cross11 miles
Hidden Scotland, the magazine

Scotland, in print.

Every photograph commissioned, every word written by somebody who went. Printed twice a year, made in Scotland.

Get Issue 13Read it here
Find out more

For further reading, before you go.