Kilnsike Tower

Bounding through the Borders with a Fabulous North To Do List, we happened upon this solid stone, funky, chunky pele tower. It was a toss up whether to stopp or not as we were enroute to Ferniehirst Castle, but it's hard to drive past a bastle and not have a mooch.

Following the path trodden in the rushes, we were kept company by a small family of pheasant chicks, their mother forging the way, like Year 1 on a school trip.

There was a bit of a sidey-ways gate to lift and shove, prolonging the journey. Maybe it was put there to deter the Border Reivers. Unravelling nylon rope on a gate always puts me off.

But wading through the waterlogged grass paid off. Kilnsike Tower was tremendous.

Built in the 16th century as a defensible farmhouse, it's remarkable to imagine how anyone could budge these colossal, cyclopean stone quoins into place. Hefty, huge lumps of Swinton Pink form this fortified house, and though harbouring algae and lichen, the blocks and mortar have stood the test of time through battles and Border wranglings, that is in all, but one wall.

The largest of these corner quoins were around a meter long!

Making our way through the little lines of desire forged by sheep, and dodging knee-high nettles we circumnavigated the shell of the tower.

What appears to be a window in the upper wall would have been the door, with a ladder that was removed when the bad lads were imminent.

Heading round to the gable end, we clocked what looked like a fireplace with a fancy mantle but discovered it was the entrance to the byre (a cow shed).

The basement is now well underground with moving land and sliding soil over the centuries from farming. The animals would have lived below the human inhabitants and would have entered and exited the tower via this.

We loved the Fred Flintstone style keystones above the door.

Moving round to the dilapidated, disintegrated open air side of the pele, we were able to sneak a peek inside the tower and spotted an early style fitted kitchen/wardrobe combo. Note the four smaller recesses and one larger space which are ultimately Medieval MFI, not quite flat pack, cupboards but intentionally designed aumbries for people to keep their belongings in.

This would have been home to the local laird and his family and would have had two floors and a garret which was a little live in loft space with maybe an iron basket to set off smoke signals in times of turmoil.

It was hard to imagine any sort of clashes or conflict here in this quiet corner of Roxboroughshire. The foreboding sky fitted with the feeling of this tumble-down tower, kept company by sheep and whispering grasses.

There are plenty of little lanes to while away the time in the Borders. A little further adventure took us to Fulton Tower, Baron's Folly, The Waterloo Monument and Timpendean Tower. And there's a plethora of places to visit in Jedburgh, Kelso and Melrose.

Pack yer flask and away ye go!