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Hermitage Castle, the great grey stone ruin with its tall arched ends standing alone on green grass under a blue sky.
Scottish Borders

Hermitage Castle

The grim medieval fortress of Liddesdale, guardhouse of the Scottish Middle March, where Mary Queen of Scots rode to see Bothwell in 1566.

Welcome

Deep in the empty hills of Liddesdale, Hermitage Castle rises from the grass, a great grey fortress.

For centuries it was the key to the Scottish Middle March, the lawless border country of the reivers, and its history is full of intrigue, murder and treason.

The present castle was begun around 1360 by an English lord, Sir Hugh de Dacre, and then rebuilt by the Douglases into the massive stronghold that stands today. In the 1500s its walls were pierced for guns. In 1566 the Earl of Bothwell lay here wounded after a fight with reivers, and Mary Queen of Scots rode 25 miles from Jedburgh to see him, only to be thrown into a bog on the way back and fall seriously ill.

The castle opens daily through the summer. Parking is limited, and the setting is wonderfully remote.

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The Daily for 4 November, from Scotland with love. A pink sandstone castle bristling with conical turrets and a Union Jack flag rises above a gravel forecourt, autumn-tinged ivy climbing one wing beside cannon displayed on the lawn.
A short drive awayMilnholm CrossA medieval cross in the valley.11 min by roadSee itThe Milnholm Cross, a tall stone cross inside iron railings in a roadside field, green hills behind.
Before you go

Open daily from April to September, 10am to 4pm; closed October to March.

Adult £7.50 online.

Where
Liddesdale, near Newcastleton, TD9 0LU.
Begun
About 1360.
Mary's ride
1566.

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Where it is

In Liddesdale north of Newcastleton, TD9 0LU, with limited parking.

Close byLiddesdale.
  1. The River Teviot running through Wilton Lodge Park in Hawick, still and blue between banks of trees turning yellow and gold in autumn.Wilton Lodge ParkThe largest formal park in the Borders, on the River Teviot in Hawick, and the only park in the region with a Green Flag.11 miles as the crow flies
  2. Children walk past a war memorial in front of a stone mansionHawick Museum12 miles as the crow flies
  3. Borders Textile TowerhouseBorders Textile TowerhouseHawick's knitwear museum.16 miles 22 min by road
  4. Barn owl flying low over green hillside with wings fully spreadTarras Valley Nature Reserve16 miles 21 min by road
  5. A panelled room in Mary Queen of Scots' House, Jedburgh, with a fireplace, a painting above it and portraits on the walls.Mary Queen of Scots' HouseWhere Mary lay ill in Jedburgh.26 miles 38 min by road
Directions
The Milnholm Cross, a tall stone cross inside iron railings in a roadside field, green hills behind.AttractionsMilnholm Cross7.2 miles

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What we have written about it and more in the Scottish Borders.

ArticleThe Redcap of Hermitage Castle
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