Lothian Castles

Date of this adventure: March 30, 2013

With James' parents on their way to Scotland, James and I headed toward Edinburgh to meet up with them on Saturday evening. We had a few extra hours so we decided to make use of our Historic Scotland membership and visit a few castles in the afternoon.

Seton Collegiate Church

"This enchanting church was the wealthy Seton family's chosen place of worship. They remodeled the medieval church, adding a magnificent vaulted choir, transepts, tower and elaborate memorials. In 1492, the Lord Seton founded a college of six priests to live here and pray for the souls of his family." 

"The remains of a building to the south west of the church may be a rare example of priests' accommodation."

"Tantallon Castle, built in about AD 1350, was the fortress-residence for over three hundred years of one of the most powerful families in Scotland, the Douglas Earls of Angus ('The Red Douglases')."

"Although the curtain wall enclosed the entire site, the castle only needed formidable defenses along the landward sire. That great curtain wall of red sandstone still stands remarkably entire, as do the three towers in which the mighty earls of Angus and their henchmen lived their lives."

Tantallon Castle looks out to the Firth of Forth.

Proper moat

"The Douglases, modest landowners before the Wars of Independence with England in the fourteenth century, emerged as a significant force thereafter with their close association with Robert the Bruce. Tantallon was built to demonstrate to all who passed by their new-found wealth and prestige." 

Land surrounding Tantallon Castle

Dirleton Castle

"For 400 years, Dirleton Castle stood as a magnificent fortress-residence for three successive noble families. It was badly damaged during Cromwell's siege of 1650, but its fortunes revived in the 1660s when the Nisbet family built a new mansion close to the picturesque ruins."

"The impressive cloister of towers is among the oldest surviving architecture in Scotland."

After a day full of castle exploring, we were off to greet the Halls in Edinburgh!