Published in Scotland Magazine Issue 39 on 23/06/2008.

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Murders, trysts, tortures and treason

Gary Hayden visits Hermitage Castle in the Scottish Borders.

There are few castles as grim and forbidding as Hermitage.

Built in the 13th century, on the disputed borderlands between England and Scotland, it changed hands many times. For four centuries, it presided over an area of conflict and bloodshed, earning it the epithet ‘guardhouse to the bloodiest valley in Britain.’ Even during times of peace and prosperity to the north and south, the border country remained tough, violent and inhospitable. It was home to the reivers: tribal-clans who lived in a state of semi-lawlessness and constant strife. Only the toughest could survive; and things do not come much tougher than Hermitage Castle.

It stands in gloomy isolation on bleak moorland 12 miles south of the border town of Hawick. It is stark, severe and unornamented.

Only its cavernous east and west arches break the monotony of its grey, slab-like walls.

The castle stands alongside the tree-lined banks of Hermitage Water. On a fine summer’s day, or a bright spring morning when the daffodils are in bloom, it can appear tolerably cheerful. But for the most part it is as bleak and oppressive a place as you are likely to stumble upon.

It is now little more than a shell. Its cold, mossy interior lies open to the elements, and its stairways and corridors no longer lead anywhere. But it is full of bitter memories, and is reputed to be one of the most haunted places in Britain.

The original motte-and-bailey castle was built around 1240 by Sir Nicholas de Soules (or Soulis). Sir Nichola.....

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By Gary Hayden

Section : Haunted Scotland

Page number : 28