Newark Castle, Tower house on the Yarrow Water valley in Scottish Borders, United Kingdom
Newark Castle is a rectangular stone tower house with five floors and a garret, located on the Bowhill Estate near Selkirk in the Scottish Borders. Its thick walls are fitted with gunloops, which show clearly that the building was designed for defense as much as for residence.
The tower was built in 1423 for Archibald Douglas, Earl of Wigtown, and passed to the Scottish Crown in 1455 after the fall of the Black Douglas family. It then changed hands among various nobles over the following centuries, reflecting the shifting fortunes of the Scottish Borders.
For centuries, this tower served as the seat of authority over the Royal Forest of Ettrick, one of Scotland's great royal hunting grounds. Visitors can still walk around the base of the walls and sense how the position of the building once signaled power over the valley below.
The castle sits within the Bowhill Estate and access is limited to certain times of year, so it is worth checking opening periods before making the trip. The grounds are large and the terrain can be uneven, so sturdy footwear is a good idea.
After the Battle of Philiphaugh in 1645, around a hundred followers of the Marquis of Montrose were killed inside the castle walls by the victorious Covenanters. This made Newark one of the darkest places in the story of the Scottish Borders, long after the fighting elsewhere had ended.
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