Thirlestane Castle

Thirlestane Castle is a castle set in extensive parklands near Lauder in the Borders of Scotland. The site is aptly named Castle Hill, as it stands upon raised ground. However, the raised land is within Lauderdale, the valley of the Leader Water. The land has been in the ownership of the Maitland family since 1587, and Thirlestane served as the seat of the Earls of Lauderdale. The castle was substantially extended in the 1670s by the first and only Duke of Lauderdale. Further additions were made in the 19th century. The castle is now cared for by a charitable trust, and is open to the public.

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

Thirlestane Castle ranks #2,378 of 8,134 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #78 of the 168 mapped in Scotland. Founded c. 1550, it is older than 39% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 755 atlas entries founded in the 16th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 4,184 times in the last 60 days, more than 82% of the atlas. 7 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Edinburgh, 38 km away. See how Scotland compares in the castle statistics.

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