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Castles
in Lothian.

It’s 20:06 in Lothian.
Lothian

Red sandstone on the Forth cliffs.

The castles of the Lothians are mostly ruins now, and they stand in wonderful places. Near North Berwick, a huge red sandstone curtain wall rises on the cliff edge, looking out to the Bass Rock. At Dunbar, where Black Agnes held out against a siege in 1338, broken walls on the harbour rocks are home to kittiwakes. Inland, there's a 13th-century ruin in the village of Dirleton with famous gardens, an old Hepburn stronghold by the Tyne near East Linton, and a Sinclair castle on its rock in Roslin Glen. Wrap up warm for the clifftop ruins, as the wind off the Forth can be fierce.

Hailes Castle→
Dunbar Castle→
Rosslyn Castle→
Dirleton Castle & Gardens→
Tantallon Castle→
Castle of the day18 hours ago

Hailes Castle.

The ruins of one of Scotland's oldest stone castles, in the valley of the River Tyne near East Linton, linked with the Hepburns and Mary, Queen of Scots.

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From Issue 4 of Hidden Scotland magazineIssue 416 hours ago

Agnes Randolph and the Siege of Dunbar Castle 1338

How Agnes Randolph, Countess of Dunbar, held Dunbar Castle against the Earl of Salisbury's English siege in 1338, during the second Scottish War of Independence.

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From our guide14 hours ago

Tantallon Castle.

Tantallon was one of the last great medieval castles built in Scotland, and it still makes an entrance. A huge curtain wall of red sandstone, raised in the 1300s, cuts straight across a clifftop headland a few miles east of North Berwick. This was the stronghold of the Red Douglases, whose quarrels with the Crown brought sieges to the gate, and it was abandoned after Cromwell's army battered it. Climb to the battlements for a tremendous view across the sea to the Bass Rock. It's cared for by Historic Environment Scotland.

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Quiz10 hours ago

The Stewart kings used Linlithgow Palace, above Linlithgow Loch in West Lothian, as a rest stop on the busy road between which two royal castles?

Did you know8 hours ago

The Peel at Linlithgow is named after a lost castle of Edward I.

The English king wintered at Linlithgow in 1301 and built a timber castle on the hilltop in 1302. It gave the Peel its name, and it lies hidden beneath the palace the Stewart kings built.

See Linlithgow Palace · Lothian
Did you know6 hours agoGraeme JohncockWritten byGraeme JohncockRead Graeme’s piece

Roslin Castle, hidden in the glen below Rosslyn Chapel in Midlothian, was built by the Sinclairs, one of the most powerful families in Scotland.

‘The Sinclairs were men of knowledge and so invested in learning that Roslin Castle had its own scriptorium for creating and copying documents. During an accidental fire in the 15th century, the 11th Baron of Roslin was in a panic about his library being lost. He wouldn’t risk his own life but forced his chaplain back inside to save specific documents instead. While the castle burned around him, the brave chaplain dutifully lowered baskets of books and scrolls down from a window to safety.’

Graeme JohncockWritten byGraeme JohncockRead Graeme’s pieceSee Rosslyn Castle · Lothian
From the magazine4 hours agoThe printed copy of Issue 04Issue 04Spring / Summer 2022

In 1338 Agnes Randolph, Countess of Dunbar, held Dunbar Castle in East Lothian for five months while her husband was away, and a rhyme still remembers her.

Agnes was the daughter of Thomas Randolph, one of Robert the Bruce's closest confidants, and became Countess of Dunbar when she married Patrick, Earl of Dunbar. An English force under the Earl of Salisbury came to take the castle in his absence, and Agnes proved more than capable, perhaps to Salisbury's surprise. She is said to have sent her maidservant to dust the ramparts with a handkerchief, and when Salisbury bribed one of her guards to leave the gates open, the guard stayed loyal and told her. After five months Salisbury gave up. Her stand earned a place in legend and song: 'Cam I early, cam I late, I found Agnes at the gate', cam being Scots for came.

Read the full story in Issue 04
From our guide2 hours ago

Dunbar Castle.

A broken tower and a few ragged walls on the red rocks at Dunbar harbour are all that's left of a fortress that once guarded this coast. Its most famous defender was Black Agnes, Countess of Dunbar, who held out against an English siege for months in 1338. The story goes that she sent her ladies to dust the battlements after each bombardment. Mary, Queen of Scots found refuge here in 1566. Today kittiwakes nest in the ruins, and the best views are from the quays.

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From our guide6 minutes ago

Rosslyn Castle.

A short walk from the village of Roslin, where the River North Esk loops through a deep wooded glen, the Sinclairs built their castle on a rock with water on three sides. You still reach it the way they intended, over a tall, narrow stone bridge across a ditch cut into the rock. The oldest part is a ruined round tower of the 14th century, and beyond it a later range rises five storeys. The ruins can be explored from the glen, up a short, steep path, while the restored part is let as a holiday home by the Landmark Trust. Pair it with a visit to the chapel.

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From our guideJust now

Dirleton Castle & Gardens.

Dirleton is a pretty village near North Berwick, and its castle rises from a rock in the middle of it. Building began in the 13th century, three noble families held it over four hundred years, and Cromwell's army left it a ruin after the siege of 1650. Later owners made it the centrepiece of a garden, and the gardens are the surprise. They hold the longest herbaceous border in the world, a great bank of colour in summer. Cross the timber bridge into the castle, find the beehive-shaped doocot, then wander the borders at your own pace.

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