Borthwick Castle – Hotel and Wedding Venue in Scotland

Borthwick Castle was built in 1430 by Lord Borthwick. The castle was built as a stronghold, designed to withstand invaders, and also as a base from with offensive strikes could be launched when needed. When the castle was first built it had a portcullis, moat and drawbridge.

Throughout it’s history the castle has hosted many distinguished guests. Mary Queen of Scots enjoyed the hospitality of the Sixth Lord Borthwick on many occasions, including her honeymoon. So inevitably she and her third husband the Earl of Bothwell sought sanctuary at Borthwick in 1567 when they learned that the Scottish nobles planned to capture them. A force of 1,000 men surrounded the castle but Mary escaped through a window in the Great Hall dressed as a pageboy, and rode through the night after her husband.

Steeped in history, Borthwick Castle has been a hotel and wedding venue since 1973 and is a fantastic place to have the best day of your life! Based near Edinburgh in Scotland it’s easily accessible in a stunning location.

If you’re not getting married but instead are just looking for an unusual place to stay for your holiday then look no further than Borthwick Castle. It’s bedchambers are unique and luxurious. You can even stay in the room which Mary Queen of Scots stayed in during her stay in the castle!

If you need any further reason to visit the castle then perhaps you’d be interested to learn that it is also rumoured to be haunted. From British Heritage Magazine:

“The Red Room has spooked so many people that the owners called in an Edinburgh priest to exorcise its lingering spirits. Legend says that a young servant girl bore an illegitimate Borthwick son in the room. Mother and baby, potential threats to the title, were quickly put to the sword. In other era, the Borthwick family chancellor used this room, and the niches for his safes remain in the stone wall to this day. According to gossip, the Borthwicks discovered their chancellor was embezzling money from the family coffers. Eschewing the nicety of a performance review, they intercepted the chancellor on his way home from Edinburgh one evening and cancelled his contract by burning him to death. The ghosts of the young servant girl and the fired chancellor still wander the stony spiral staircases of Borthwick, some people say, and even the most stalwart visitors admit to feeling invisible presences in the Great Hall.”