Craigmillar Castle

Craigmillar Castle

Edinburgh's other castle

Most visitors to Scotland's capital know the great fortress of Edinburgh Castle on its rock in the heart of the city. Fewer know that, just a few miles to the south, there stands another castle — quieter, greener and remarkably complete. This is Craigmillar Castle, one of the best-preserved medieval castles in the whole of Scotland, set on a low rocky rise with wide views back towards Edinburgh.

The Prestons and their tower

The heart of Craigmillar is a strong stone tower house, built in the late fourteenth century by the Preston family, who were important local lords. Shaped like the letter "L," the tower held the family's hall and private rooms stacked one above another. Over the following century the Prestons surrounded it with a high curtain wall studded with round towers, and later still added comfortable ranges of rooms within, gardens and a fish-pond. The result is a castle where you can trace, layer by layer, how a medieval family slowly turned a fortress into a fine home.

Mary, Queen of Scots, and a dangerous plot

Craigmillar's most famous chapter belongs to Mary, Queen of Scots. In 1566, soon after the birth of her son — the future James VI and I — and after a frightening time at the palace of Holyrood, the queen came to Craigmillar to rest and recover. The castle was a safe and pleasant retreat, away from the dangers of the city.

But Craigmillar was also the setting for a darker scheme. While Mary was there, some of her leading nobles discussed how they might rid her of her unpopular and troublesome husband, Lord Darnley. This secret agreement is sometimes called the "Craigmillar Bond." Not long afterwards, Darnley was indeed murdered, in one of the most mysterious crimes in Scottish history — a crime whose shadow would help bring about Mary's own downfall.

A castle frozen in time

Unlike many great castles, Craigmillar was never blown up in a siege or torn down in a war. Its owners simply moved on to grander houses, and the castle was left largely as it had been. Because of that, it survives today in unusually good condition, with its tower, halls, kitchens, courtyards and gardens all still there to explore. Walking through it, visitors get a vivid sense of how a noble family really lived in the Middle Ages.

Visiting today

Today Craigmillar is a calm and uncrowded place, perfect for climbing spiral stairs, peering from high windows, and imagining a queen taking refuge within its walls. From the top of the old tower, the famous skyline of Edinburgh rises in the distance — a reminder that great history was made not only in the capital's mighty fortress, but here too, in "Edinburgh's other castle."