Tantallon Castle

Tantallon Castle is a ruined mid-14th-century fortress, located 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) east of North Berwick, in East Lothian, Scotland. It sits atop a promontory opposite the Bass Rock, looking out onto the Firth of Forth. The last medieval curtain wall castle to be constructed in Scotland, Tantallon comprises a single wall blocking off the headland, with the other three sides naturally protected by sea cliffs.

Tantallon was built in the mid 14th century by William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas. It was passed to his illegitimate son, George Douglas, later created Earl of Angus, and despite several sieges, it remained the property of his descendants for much of its history. It was besieged by King James IV in 1491, and again by his successor James V in 1527, when extensive damage was done. Tantallon saw action in the First Bishops' War in 1639, and again during Oliver Cromwell's invasion of Scotland in 1651, when it was once more severely damaged. It was sold by the Marquis of Douglas in 1699 to Hew Dalrymple, Lord North Berwick and the ruin is today in the care of Historic Environment Scotland.

Text adapted from “Tantallon Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Tantallon Castle ranks #744 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #24 of the 167 mapped in Scotland. Founded 1350, it is older than 57% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 582 atlas entries founded in the 14th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 6,834 times in the last 60 days, more than 88% of the atlas. Wikidata records about 31,000 visitors in 2009. 4 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Edinburgh, 35 km away. See how Scotland compares in the castle statistics.

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