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Edingham Castle

After spending the day exploring the castles and tower houses of the Stewartry our intrepid reporter (Alison) and her equally barmy friend Cartriona (an Aberdonian and self confessed Galloway Virgin) decided to explore Edingham Castle.

After crossing three fields, wading through waist high nettles and thistles, we finally reached our destination only to find.... yet more nettles. However we were amazed by the sheer scale of the building and our only problem was how to get over the wall in order to have a closer look.

We already knew a little about the castle before we embarked on our adventure but only that it was the remains of an early 16th century tower house built for the Livingstones of Little Airds but that was it. From our visits to other Tower Houses we knew that Scottish landowners of the day struggled to afford to build houses which combined family accommodation with defence. Therefore a tower house provided a modest residence for a Laird and his family and its powerful construction was able to resist assault.

We were surprised to see that a substantial part of the tower still remained. By process of elimination, and the use of the compass on our trusty mobile phone, we established that most of the west gable was almost intact. After scaling the wall (a whole 3ft) Alison bravely ventured through the front door.

Through the gloom there appeared to be a vaulted cellar area (we knew this as we had seen the same style previously at Buittle Tower and Cardonness Castle). It appears to have been a storage area rather than a kitchen as there was no evidence of a fireplace. Although it looks like a single room it was probably divided in two by a wooden partition. There is also evidence of the tower being built for defensive purposes as there were slit windows on the ground floor and a possible gun loop in the west wall.

We were very excited by the remains of a turnpike stair which lead up to a second floor; however due to the absence of hard hats and steel toe-capped boots we decided against venturing up. With hindsight (it's a wonderful thing) it would have been advisable to obtain the permission of the local landowner and we would advise that anyone thinking of paying a visit to Edingham Castle should contact Matthew Taylor on 01556 610397.