Fa'side Castle

The recently rebuilt Fa'side castle which sits prominently on the ridge south of the A1 southeast of Edinburgh has connections to Mary Queen of Scots.  Henry VIII had wanted the infant Mary Queen of Scots to marry his son in the "Rough Wooing." As the Scots weren't keen they fought a Battle of Fa'side in 1847 and the next day at nearby Pinkie, 1300 Scots were killed and the castle was burnt by the English with all those inside suffocating or burning to death. The little Queen was taken to France so that marriage never happened.  The castle was rebuilt and then later, in 1567 Mary Queen of Scots left Fa'side as reigning Queen (apparently leaving behind a chest of clothes) to confront the Confederate Lords who disapproved of her behaviour.  She was then forced to abdicate at Carberry Hill about a mile away in 1567 and subsequently imprisoned.

Today the castle overlooks not only those battle sites but the peaceful landscapes of the distant snowy hills to the south, the agricultural lands of the Lothians, the blue waters of the Forth and Edinburgh in the distance.