Visited July 2024

Location	Edinburgh
Entrance Fee	Yes
Railway Station Nearby	No
Parking	Yes
Facilities	Gift Shop, Toilets
Map

Craigmillar Castle is often referred to as 'Edinburgh's other castle'. Despite not getting the same number of tourists as the bigger & more famous Edinburgh Castle, it is well worth while seeking out this picturesque and historically important castle if you are in the Scottish capital.

Review

The castle was originally built as a tower house in the 1400s by the Preston family. It was then extended and expanded under subsequent family members. In 1566 the castle was visited by Mary Queen of Scots, who was a good friend of Sir Simon Preston.

During the three weeks that she stayed there her advisors hatched a plan known as the 'Craigmillar Bond', which was the decision to rid Mary of her troublesome husband Lord Darnley. This was carried out early in 1567, and signalled the end of Mary's reign and ultimately her freedom. Sir Simon Preston had to imprison her at his house before she was taken off to Lochleven Castle where she remained  imprisoned for a year. Her time in captivity lasted for 19 years in total, before she was finally executed at Fotheringhay Castle.

Gory histories aside, Craigmillar is a picturesque ruin today with some noteworthy features.

The gateway from the outer courtyard to the inner has the Preston Coat of Arms over the doorway. The Arms depict three unicorns, although admittedly they are hard to make out. Through the doorway the first thing you will notice are the two ancient yew trees which flank it. They were planted either side of the door, and offer some greenery in the cobbled courtyard. On the day of our visit there were some children's activities such as Hoopla, Skittles and Shield Making. These were set up in a small room in the East range situated just off the courtyard; which was lucky as we had a bit of rain while we were there and it gave us somewhere to shelter, and to play some games whilst we waited out the shower.

There was also a Duck Trail, with tiny little rubber ducks hidden in small crevices around the castle for eagle-eyed spotters!

The Great Tower at the castle is worth climbing, as the view gives you a better look at the lay-out of the castle from above. Even with walls almost 3m thick it was not built to withstand a heavy bombardment, but had a few features to aid its defence such as arrow slits by the main entrance. Also the castle was built on rock and a deep gully had been cut leading up to the entrance, which would have had a wooden bridge which could be removed in the event of an attack.

There are some pretty impressive battlements too- most of which can still be walked on. We managed this ok in the rain as they are well maintained and so not slippery, but as always be careful with younger children.

Outside there is the remains of a pleasure garden with a sunken feature shaped to look like a P for Preston. This would had been planted with trees surrounding it, and may have contained water, although it is dry these days. It is pleasant to walk around in the grounds, and there are sometimes guided tours of the garden led by castle volunteers.

The castle has toilets and a gift shop in the lovely castle lodge, but there is no cafe. It wasn't very busy in July when we went: our taxi driver told us he doesn't take many tourists there, which is a shame as this is well worth a visit. Maybe the tourists  go to the 'other' Edinburgh castle instead, and miss out a real treat at Craigmillar?

More info:  Craigmillar Castle