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 Carlisle castle, Carlisle, Co. Cumbria
This border castle bares the scars and the stories of 900 years of skirmishes between Scotland and England and was where Mary Queen of Scots was once held prisoner.
 Image © by English Heritage
Though the castle dates back to the 12th Century, the site was used much earlier as a Roman garrison along Hadrian’s Wall . Throughout the Dark Ages Carlisle Castle passed hands from the English to the Scottish and during the Scottish Wars of Independence of the 12th Century Carlisle played a key role. King Edward I called his court here in 1306-7 and the castle was later laid siege many times by the Scottish Bravehearts under Robert the Bruce . In years later the castle was to play host to two other key Scottish figures, Mary Queen of Scots as prisoner and Bonnie Prince Charlie as Commander of the garrison when the Jacobites took it over. The castle was since used as a military barracks for the King’s Own Royal Border Regiment up until it was decommissioned in 1959.
The history of the castle is told through fascinating exhibitions within its confines. The old Keep was used to imprison Mary Queen of Scots and in less pleasant circumstances the Jacobite rebels. Locked in the dungeons without water, these men were reduced to desperately licking the moister off the walls, where you can see tongue shaped grooves in what are called ‘the licking stones!’ The exhibition on the Border Regiment houses an amazingly extensive collection of military equipment dating as far back as the 17th Century and memorabilia from the many worldwide conflicts fought by its soldiers.
This attraction is included in the Great British Heritage Pass.
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