Hermitage Castle
The grim towers of Hermitage Castle long stood as guardhouse in the bloodiest valley in Britain and today are an eerie and desolate sight.
This stark and sturdy castle is one of the best surviving 13th Century castles in the border region, a tribute to its hardy structure and stout defenses, or perhaps it was simply hidden in its isolated location. When the castle was built in 1240 by the King's Butler Sir Nicholas de Soulis, it caused a diplomatic row with England because of its close proximity to the borders of the Cheviot Hills. A medieval version of the Cuban Missile Crisis it seems!
Heritage Castle continually changed hands between England and Scotland being located in what were known as the 'debatable lands' and was fought over during the wars with England in the 13th Century when the Scots sought independence from England and their ruthless ruler King Edward I 'Hammer of Scots'. In nearby Ettrick Forrest, William Wallace and his band of men were encamped, launching guerrilla attacks on English forces and supply lines and using the forest as cover.
After the Wars of Independence the land was claimed by the Earls of Douglas. In 1338, history tells of the mysterious murder of William Douglas in the forest nearby Hermitage Castle. New owners the Hepburns from East Lothian took up the castle in 1492 and it would be one of their descendants who would bring about the end of Mary Queen of Scots reign in disgrace. James Hepburn earl of Bothwell married the Queen after her husband was murdered, a plot Hepburn had been head of. This dangerous liaison brought about the end of the Queen who was forced to abdicate in favour of her son James VI . James Hepburn went on to be a pirate before he was captured and incarcerated in such vile conditions he went insane.
