Aikwood Tower

Aikwood Tower (formerly known as Oakwood Tower) is a 16th-century tower house in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, 4 miles (6 kilometres) southwest of the town of Selkirk, on the Ettrick Water. The tower is a Category A listed building.

The property was granted to Robert Scott by King James V in 1517, and the tower was likely built soon afterwards, possibly as early as 1535, although the exact date of completion is not known. It was abandoned as a dwelling and was used as a store on the adjoining farm. The tower rises over four storeys with an additional attic level.

The building was restored in the early 1990s by the former Liberal Party leader David Steel, and renovated in 1992. Lord Steel purchased the property from the Duke of Buccleuch in the late 1980s, prior to undertaking the renovation works.

He and his wife lived there for twenty years from 1992 to 2012. Aikwood Tower is now owned by Steel's son Rory and his wife who operate it as a private holiday home and wedding venue. The property was put for sale in 2025.

Text adapted from “Aikwood Tower” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Aikwood Tower ranks #7,184 of 8,764 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #204 of the 207 mapped in Scotland. Founded c. 1550, it is older than 39% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 827 atlas entries founded in the 16th century. 6 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Edinburgh, 51 km away. See how Scotland compares in the castle statistics.

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Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗