A dream or should I say nightmare come true! I always wanted to stay in a castle as well as…read moresomewhere haunted, well I got a twofer with this place. Our room, the Grey room was grand and creepy all at once. We had the entire castle to ourselves during our stay except for a few workers. We loved walking the grounds while imagining what happened here so long ago. We were lucky enough to meet the owner of the castle, Sir Humphry Wakefield, who brought it back to life after it was left in shambles. We loved touring the castle. The coffee shop was great with its lovely food and giant stone fireplace to warm up in front of. We bought a couple keepsakes in the gift shop, hoping it would be the only thing we'd be taking home from this place. Wish we could have stayed another night, but even if you're not a ghost hunter, I think a stay in this beautiful castle is well worth your time!

This is a great castle, it is a lot more scary at night as I have been in the daytime and when they…read moredid the celebrity haunted night there are though I dont find it remotly scary during the day the place is a lot creepier at night. The castle is a lovely medival castle which has a great hall and a room full of armour and weapons The most interesting thing is the torture chambers which include a rack, thumb screws and an iron maiden. The pit prison has the bones of a child who died here and the bones of the blue boy were supposed to be found in one of the walls during renovation Lots of the rooms are supposdly haunted and there are always little orbs on photots brought back from here when you take pictures at the lake. They do have overnight stays at the castle. A good place to go for those interested in castle or ghosts

Dunbar Castle is a very battered piece of Scots history this is the place which Mary Queen of Scots…read moremade her escape from the English Queen Elizabeth.

The Kelso races was a mixed bag. The stands are really good and close to the horses so you can…read moreproperly *feel* the race. The courtyard is also full of various bookies with differing odds, so you can choose whoever's best for your horse (though I'm assuming this is standard for all courses). The food isn't anything to write home about but it's reasonably priced and quickly served. The main issue was the bar. I always find it funny when the only lager on tap in a Scottish bar is Foster's and not Tenants. I also find it funny (and by that I mean horrifically annoying) when a group of bar staff don't know who's working what area of the bar and subsequenly ignore a whole section of the bar for so long people start moving. The bar is broken into one main serving area and two smaller side serving areas. They had two staff working one of the small side bits, and one member of staff working half of the large main bit. We were unfortunate enough to be stuck in the ignored area until we piped up to ask if it was a no-serve area. We received no apology, though they sorted the unequal serving shortly thereafter. You may not expect top service in this kind of place, but you do expect a bit of common sense. I also found it interesting that it was nearly impossible to reach the race by public transportation. So, good for the races, but come ready to be patient and with a DD!

A cornucopia of a shop. Very small frontage belies what is…read moreinside. Well worth investigating.

One of the most breathtaking places I have ever seen, in what I believe is the most beautiful…read morecountry in the world. Tantallon is a castle ruins on the coast outside of North Berwick, looking out into the ocean from the cliff edge. Views from the top in 360 show the countryside with little white cottages distant, and then also the open sea, with a giant rock that has a white lighthouse you can see with sharp eyes, but that may not turn up in your photos without a good camera. There was an Actual Photographer taking photos while we were here. But. I say, good luck taking a bad photo even if you have no picture taking skill whatsoever. I have ? maybe a little, and I would just suggest having a handle on your low lighting settings if you want to get anything good inside because it is dark. There's nothing I can say here that will do it justice. I fell in love with Tantallon (tan-talon) based on a picture. My friend sent me a website with some things to do in her neck of the woods (imagine this being in your neck of the woods, what is life), and this was easily the first place I was drawn to. And as with everything you see of Scotland in media, pictures or film does not do it justice. Not only did I get to look at it this month, but I got to thoroughly explore it! So first thing, make sure if you're going to be seeing at least two castles or abbeys in the Scottish Borders that you purchase an Explorer Pass for around 46 pounds (I think this was 58 dollars americano). It will pay for itself. Many of the famous landmarks are included on the pass, and you won't have to pay entrance fees if you have your pass. Next important thing, please be careful climbing around inside the castle. Use the ropes provided, brace yourself on the walls, go slow, don't be faffing about with your camera phone (I was NOT, Mom). I was wearing my most serious pair of hiking boots with monster grip and I still slipped and fell on my butt in the dungeon. If you're afraid of heights or claustrophobic like me, it may also be a challenge, but it is worth it. So worth it. Once you realize it's a ruin and there's so much missing from what once was, you may think there's not much to actually explore inside but that's not true. There's towers to climb, ramparts to walk, a spooky fern-filled well (it reminded me of the tunnel or tower? from the book Annihilation, shivers) that you can give yourself vertigo leaning too far into to try and see the bottom, and low places in which to descend, such as the dungeon, but fair warning, it is slippery, it is tight quarters and it is SPOOKY. As it should be. Imagine what horrors awaited people down there... Ok, time to wrap up. Basically, it's gorgeous, please come see it and enjoy the sea air and sit on one of the many benches to take it all in. The gift shop is lovely (I was close to buying an amethyst Celtic knot ring), and there is a bus here from North Berwick, which I highly recommend checking out as well, as it is beautiful and the thrifting is excellent. Of course, everyone is friendly too. That goes for the entire country. One final note, dress as warmly as possible as Tantallon is on the ocean and it is windy and COLD. I am telling you this as a warm blooded person who does not easily get cold. The castle will help buffer on one side, but the other side is completely unforgiving. This was the weather I came for. Proper weather. Possibly the most beautiful view from a castle I've ever seen, sorry Edinburgh and Stirling.

Super cool castle ruins just three miles from North Berwick…read more Took the 120 bus and told the driver where I wanted to stop, but he still missed it and I did have to do a bit of walking back down the road. Most people arrived in rental cars, but I was trying to be adventurous. This is a castle ruin, and what remains are mostly outside walls and structures. You really have to imagine hard of what it would have been like in its heyday. But it sits along the water, so the views from the castle are stunning! The structure is still sound enough that you can climb to the second floor, where you get the best views. Plus it's just kind of cool to climb around in castle ruins. This was one of my favorite castles that I've visited in Scotland. Probably because it right on the water, and this castle is what I envision when I think of a Scottish castle.

A very pretty Palladian mansion, set in lovely grounds. Enjoyed the guided tour immensely. Really…read moreinformative and interesting. There's a gift shop selling local crafts, a lovely tearoom doing meals, cakes, and coffees etc, and a scenic walk, which takes around one and a half hours. a great way to while away a few hours.

Number One Function Suite in Berwick (admittedly not words that you would normally put together)…read more The Black and Gold is not a social club now, but is certainly very sociable since being taken over and updated by David and Kevin. A great location for christenings, weddings, funeral teas, or get-togethers, or just for a drink before or after the Football or Speedway.

I couldn't make up my mind last night if you actually have to belong to be able to book a night in…read morehere for any activities, but the Masonic Lodge here in Haddington is quite a nice, smaller hall for hosting activities, such as the fundraiser we went to last night. It's clean, tidy, with a small bar. If hosting, it looks like you can bring in your own food (such as the stovies folk around me tucked into). All around are little reminders of the connection of Burns and the Masons, but having a quick google doesn't bring up any historical connection between this lodge and the man himself. Very pleasant place, and always gives me a bit of a shiver to walk into such halls given the sometimes inaccessability of this group.