Markle Castle

On our whirlwind tour of East Lothian we eventually found Markle Castle, an ancient fortress built over 700 years ago. It stands in ruins near the quaint little village of Markle, not far from East Linton in Scotland and we're told it was constructed by the influential Hepburn family. Initially they had just built a mega tall tower, but it was later expanded it to include a big hall and a courtyard.

The castle was strategically positioned on a large rock, which was a clever choice for defense, however it faced attacks and even fires over time. One major attack took place in 1401 by George Dunbar and our local lad Henry 'Hotspur' Percy. Lord Hertford led the English in attack in 1544 during a period known as the Rough Wooing and the castle was burned along with others in the area.

By the 1600s, the castle was no longer in use and was abandoned. The situation worsened when a railway was built, and fishing activities started near the castle, causing more damage to its remains.

As you can see Markle Castle is mostly in ruins, but you can still see parts of the tall tower, the large hall, and the courtyard. It's a cracking view if you are dangling your rod in the water at the nearby Markle Fishery.

It took us a couple of attempts to figure out where it was and how to actually get to it as it was a bit tricky. We broke out our trusty monocular and we managed to locate it. The easiest way is to look for the Markle Fisheries sign and then the track hugs the road and railway line before opening up into a car park in around 200m. From here you can see the castle straight ahead of you.