Best Castle in Midlothian, Scotland - Map and Reviews

Borthwick Castle is located to the east of the village of Borthwick, about 12 miles south-east of Edinburgh. The castle sits on a small hill and is protected on three sides by steep slopes. Borthwick Castle was built in 1430 for Sir William Borthwick. The castle is a double tower and in good condition, and none of the original narrow windows have been changed. The battlements are supported by projecting corbels with corner roundels, but have lost their stepped crenellations. The tower has two doorways. One doorway at ground-level leads into the partly underground kitchen and storage-vaults. The other doorway is directly above it at first-floor level, and leads into the stone-vaulted great hall. The castle is accessed via a reconstructed stone bridge. Borthwick Castle was built on the site of an earlier structure in the 15th century. The castle is the seat of the Borthwick family ancestral seat. Sir William Borthwick built the castle in 1430. The castle was originally a stone enclosure fortress centred on a tall tower house with walls up to 14 feet thick. The tower is U-shaped with a 12 foot gap between the towers. There was a surrounding defensive courtyard with round towers at the corners. The tower house is in mainly original condition but the surrounding wall and towers have been restored. Borthwick Castle was visited twice by Mary I of Scotland, in 1563 and again in 1567 when she was besieged inside - she escaped the siege by disguising herself as a page. In 1650 the Castle was attacked by Oliver Cromwell's forces, and was surrendered after only a few cannon shots. Cannon damage from this attack can still be seen on one of the walls. When Cromwell's forces left the castle, it lay abandoned for many years before being restored by 1914. During World War II the castle was used to store national treasures. In 1973 it was leased from the Borthwick family and converted into a hotel. Some of the guest rooms have four poster beds. The Great Hall is used as a dining room and caters for banquets for up to 75 guests, as well as smaller parties and couples. The castle can be hired as a wedding venue for 2 to 75 people. Wedding ceremony (religious or civil) and reception can take place in the castle.

Dalhousie Castle is a magnificent medieval castle hotel set in the rolling countryside of Midlothian, Scotland, widely regarded as one of the most atmospheric and romantic castle hotels in the entire country. Dating back to the thirteenth century, the castle is one of the oldest inhabited castles in Scotland and has been transformed into a luxury hotel while retaining much of its extraordinary historical character. It sits in around twelve acres of woodland along the banks of the River South Esk, presenting visitors with an experience that genuinely feels removed from the modern world. Its combination of authentic medieval architecture, lavish interiors and woodland setting makes it a destination sought out for weddings, special occasions and simply for the pleasure of sleeping within ancient stone walls. The castle has roots stretching back to the 1200s and was the ancestral seat of the Ramsay family for over six centuries, a tenure that speaks to its remarkable continuity of ownership and its deep entanglement with Scottish history. The Ramsays were a powerful Borders family, and the castle witnessed countless episodes of Scottish political turmoil. King Edward I of England, known as the Hammer of the Scots, is said to have stayed at Dalhousie, as did Mary Queen of Scots, who used the castle as a base during her campaigns. Oliver Cromwell's forces occupied it during the seventeenth century, and the Duke of Cumberland is associated with the estate in the context of the Jacobite period. This history of royal and military association gives the castle an almost theatrical historical weight. Physically, Dalhousie Castle is a study in the drama of Scottish baronial architecture. Its towers, battlements and thick sandstone walls rise with commanding authority from the wooded riverbank, the warm honey and grey tones of the stone catching the light in a way that shifts beautifully across the seasons. Approaching down the tree-lined drive, the castle appears gradually through mature woodland, creating a sense of ceremonial arrival. Inside, the ceilings are vaulted in places, the fireplaces enormous, and the stonework exposed throughout so that guests are constantly reminded of the building's age. The low hum of the river nearby and birdsong filtering through old windows give the place a quality of deep stillness. The surrounding landscape is quintessentially Midlothian: gently undulating, wooded in places, threaded by rivers, and agricultural in character without being bleak. The village of Bonnyrigg lies close by, and the town of Dalkeith is a short distance away. Edinburgh itself is only around ten miles to the north, making Dalhousie an accessible escape from the city that nonetheless feels genuinely rural. Rosslyn Chapel, made famous by Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code but long celebrated as a masterpiece of medieval stone carving, is just a few miles away, making the area particularly rich for those interested in history and heritage. The Pentland Hills are visible from parts of the estate, adding a broader scenic context. For visitors, the castle operates as a hotel and is not a conventional tourist attraction with open public access, so the best way to experience it is to stay there, dine in its celebrated Dungeon Restaurant, or attend one of the various events it hosts throughout the year. The Dungeon Restaurant is carved into the castle's original vaulted basement and is genuinely extraordinary — low-ceilinged, candlelit, and entirely medieval in feel, it offers a dining experience with real theatre. The castle also houses a falconry centre, allowing guests to interact with birds of prey in the woodland grounds, which adds another layer of unusual charm. Weddings are among the most popular uses, and the castle's combination of chapel space and grand interiors makes it one of Scotland's most sought-after wedding venues. One of the more fascinating details of Dalhousie is the ghost said to inhabit it — Lady Catherine, a young woman who according to legend was locked in one of the upper rooms by a jealous nobleman and left to die there. Her presence is reportedly felt most strongly in the tower areas, and the castle leans into this history in a charming rather than exploitative way. The castle's library and sitting rooms are filled with period furnishings and portraits that reinforce the sense of continuity between past and present. The fact that it remains not merely standing but actively used and celebrated, after nearly eight hundred years of continuous existence, is perhaps the most remarkable thing about it.

Crichton Castle is a ruined castle situated at the head of the River Tyne, near the village of Crichton in Midlothian. Crichton has four main buildings arranged around an inner courtyard. There is a 14th century tower at the east of the castle with a vaulted basement, and a vaulted hall above. The south-west corner of the tower has collapsed. A second tower was built in the early 15th century forming an L-plan, with a gate between the two towers. The south tower has vaulted cellars on either side of the entrance. Two halls occupied the first and second floors. In the later 15th century a west block was added, with a six-storey tower at the south-west, containing several bedrooms. Crichton Castle was built in the late 14th century by John de Crichton as a tower house family residence. The castle was stormed and damaged in 1445 in response to Crichton's role in organizing the "Black Dinner" where the Earl of Douglas was murdered. Crichton was rebuilt and extended. In 1488, James IV granted Crichton to Patrick Hepburn, Lord Hailes. The fourth Earl, James Hepburn was, in February 1567, implicated in the murder of Queen Mary's husband Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, and became Mary's third husband in May of that year. In 1956, the castle was given into state care by its owner, Major Henry Callander of Prestonhall. It is now a Scheduled Ancient Monument administered by Historic Scotland. The Arts Crichton Castle was used as a location in the 1995 film Rob Roy Legends To the south of the castle is a building that is said to be haunted by the ghost of William Crichton.