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Hermitage Castle (HS)

Liddesdale, Newcastleton

‘The guardhouse of the bloodiest valley in Britain’, Hermitage Castle was the key to control over much of the Border country. As such it was highly prized and much fought over. Built in the 14th and 15th centuries, the Hermitage is one of the most imposing late mediaeval castles in the British Isles. Around the top of the castle there was once a wooden fighting platform. This was supported by timber joists fitted into the square sockets that can still be seen. One of the original owners of the castle, Lord de Soules, is reputed to have met a macabre death, according to local legend. For defying Robert the Bruce he was wrapped in lead and slowly boiled in a cauldron. The castle was in a ruinous state by the 18th century. It owes much of its present appearance to the repairs carried out in the early 19th century by the 5th Duke of Buccleuch. Picnic area.