A Castle for Valentine's Day

I had promised to write about the Tantallon Castle. I thought I would write about my experience for Valentine's Day. At first I had not particular reason to write this today. After researching some of the castle I had found an interesting connection.

Sunday February 10th, 2008
We ventured off the bus and had to walk down a long driveway to arrive at the visitor center. They told us to walk past it and onto the castle. The mist was thick and off in the distance on top of the hill we saw a small stone structure. I had heard great things about this castle, but that building did not impress me too much. It was far away though, so I decided not to judge it too quickly. Our whole group was standing there together when it happened. Suddenly the mist parted and a large towering structure broke through. We all gasped in awe. Wow! It was a lot larger than we imagined it to be. The moment was almost too perfect for words. Laughter ensued because we realized we had all been thinking the smaller building was the castle.

I have not been to a lot of castles, yet, but I believe this one just may be my favorite. It was on the edge of the cliffs overlooking the North Sea. It was rustic and you could somehow feel the history that was there. I think the mist added to the effect.



We walked on a bridge, over what would have been a moat. We walked through a small room and into this large area. All of the wooden floors had given away, so you can see the different levels.








The map of the castle.
I think what I liked the most about this was all the passages and stairways that we were able to explore. Hardly anything was roped off or off limits. We were free to explore.



The backside of the castle was not as developed as the side facing inland. Perhaps because the cliffs were enough of a barrier.

The history of the castle dates back to 1358 according to Wikipedia. Throughout the centuries the castle fell into many hands. In February 1651 it was in the hands of an Alexander Seton who was placed as captain of the castle. He was the 1st Viscount of Kensington.

Oliver Cromwell's army invaded Scotland, Tantallon had a small amount of men who were disabling some of Cromwell's communications in south east Scotland. There were few men that occupied the castle. On hearing this Cromwell besieged it. February 14th 1651, during the siege, Alexander Seton was ennobled. (That is where today fits in, even though it is not too much of a connection.)



Twelve days later (after "battering with grate canon") the castle troops were forced to surrender and Tantallon was left in a ruinous state.