Roslin Castle

Just enough remains of the once-mighty Roslin Castle to impose a sense of its grandiosity. While the site saw various iterations of the structure over its centuries of use, it remained a keystone of Scottish warfare throughout the Medieval and Early Modern eras. Suffering heavy onslaughts during the War of the Rough Wooing as well as the Reformation risings, parts of Roslin Castle have been restored by subsequent owners, although much of it remains hauntingly fractured.

Roslin’s importance to Scotland is not limited to warfare. Excavations uncovered several vital texts thought to have been penned in the castle’s scriptorium, one of which was the Rosslyn-Hay manuscript. This work is believed to be the oldest surviving example of Scots prose, foreshadowing the vital literary tradition soon to elevate the nation’s cultural prowess.

How to get there

Roslin is one of the more accessible castles in Scotland, lying just nine miles south of Edinburgh. The N37 bus takes passengers to the very nearby Rosslyn Inn, from which it is only a short walk to both the castle and Roslin Chapel.