Hailes Castle

Description:

Visit the beautifully sited ruin of a fortified manor dating back to the 1200s, associated with the Wars of Independence and Mary Queen of Scots.

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In a beautiful location on the banks of the River Tyne just 5 miles from Haddington, Hailes Castle dates from the early 1200s and is one of Scotland’s oldest stone castles.

Built by the de Gourlay family, Hailes was frequently besieged. It withstood an attack in 1400 by Henry Hotspur Percy but fell to various enemies over the next two centuries. In 1567 Mary Queen of Scots stayed here, hosted by James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, who was to become her third husband. Today’s ruin includes the 13th-century curtain wall, the 14th-century keep, the West Tower, and two vaulted pit-prisons.

Hailes Castle, Haddington, UK