Hermitage Castle

Returning from our trip to Northumberland we stopped in past Hermitage Castle which is a semi-ruined castle in the Scottish Borders.

Hermitage Castle is in Liddesdale and it has been described as ‘the guardhouse of the bloodiest valley in Britain’.

Partly restored in the 19th century, the castle was originally built by Lord de Soules in the 1240s. For most of its existence, the castle was the key to controlling the Scottish Middle March.

The castle also has a romantic past, with the Mary of Queen of Scots visiting her secret lover, the 4th Earl of Bothwell here when he was injured and on his sickbed. Sir Walter Scott was also fond of this castle and had himself painted with it in the background.