Cessford Castle is a ruined 15th-century castle located in the bonnie Scottish Borders. Located just 8 miles from the Scottish/English border, Cessford Castle was a strong, defensive castle, and was once the seat of the Ker family. In this edition of Secrets of Scotland, I’m talking about the history of the castle and tips for visiting.
Cessford Castle History
Cessford Castle. Credit: MacGibbon and Ross
Cessford Castle was built sometime around 1450 by Andrew Ker, an ancestor of Sir Robert Ker, the 1st Earl of Roxburghe.
It’s located just 2 miles from the village of Morebattle, which lies close to the English and Scottish Border. Due to its location, the castle was sure to see many bloody battles and skirmishes, and so it was built with this in mind- to withstand a full-scale siege.
The castle is an L-shaped tower, with walls that were once 4 metres (13 feet) thick! It housed the Ker family, their servants, and a garrison of up to 60 soldiers.
It was often attacked by the English, and a notable attempt was made by the Earl of Surrey in 1523. His men climbed the outer wall, covered by fire from eleven cannons and a company of archers, but could not get into the castle. Two smaller cannons then shot open a blocked window, and gunners shovelled four barrels of gunpowder into the chamber behind. The Scots took drastic action- burning the powder before it could be exploded, foiling the attack!
The Earl apparently commented that Cessford was the third-strongest castle in Scotland at the time!
It remained the family home until 1607 when the Ker family left Cessford Castle. Sir Robert Ker, who later became the 1st Earl of Roxburghe, moved to Holydean near Melrose.
The family eventually moved to the much grander home of Floors Castle. The family still resides here to this day!
Today Cessford Castle is mainly visited by those walking the long-distance trails, St Cuthbert’s Way and the Scottish National Trail.
Planning Your Visit To Cessford Castle
How to get there: Driving is your best option, however, there isn’t any designated parking, but you may be able to park along the country lane which is fairly quiet. There is a Peter Hogg bus you can catch from Kelso that stops in Morebattle- from there it’s a pleasant 40-minute walk along a country road.
Drive time: 1 hr 45 minutes from Edinburgh
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Cessford Castle is free to visit, but it is a crumbling ruin- so take extra care when visiting.
It is located in a paddock where sheep sometimes graze- make sure you close the gate to the paddock when you enter so you don’t set any wandering sheep free.
The entrance to the inside of the castle has been closed off, however, determined explorers have found a way through!
As you enter the grounds, there is an information plaque detailing the castle’s history.
Warning: Please take extreme care when exploring castle ruins- do not enter the castle and keep a safe distance from it.
MY BEST TRAVEL TIPS FOR SCOTLAND
Here is a list of travel resources that I always use that save me time and money. For more tips check out my ultimate guide on planning a trip to Scotland.
💜 Planning: If you’re on a budget I highly recommend grabbing my Ultimate Scotland Travel Planning Bundle. It includes an ebook, digital travel planner, and cheat sheets for planning your trip.
💜 Planning a Trip to Scotland Course: If you are looking for help to plan your trip from start to finish, my Planning A Trip To Scotland course is my absolute best resource for creating your itinerary! It includes 70+ videos about every aspect of planning a trip to Scotland.
💜 Booking flights: I use Skyscanner when researching and booking my flights as I find them to have the best deals. I also use Google Flights to compare flights I’ve found on Skyscanner. I always book direct with the airline.
💜 Accommodation: I use Booking.com when booking my accommodation in Scotland. I also have a list of my recommended accommodation in Scotland here.
💜 Travel insurance: I always recommend booking travel insurance for any trip you take. Personally, I use CoverMore– I used to sell this insurance when I was a travel agent and dealt with claims on behalf of my customers frequently and they were really easy to deal with. World Nomads is also another high-quality insurance provider I recommend.
💜 Tours and Activities: I use GetYourGuide whenever I can to book tours and activities. I also recommend purchasing the Explorer Pass if you plan on visiting a few attractions.
💜 Transport: When hiring a car in the UK I always use Celtic Legend. You can save 10% off your car rental by using the referral code WAYFARINGKIWI when you ask for a quote. For train times and bookings I use Scotrail (Scotland’s main network) and I also compare prices with Trainline. For bus travel, I use Megabus for cheap fares.
💜 What to pack: The weather is changeable in Scotland and you can sometimes have four seasons in one day! I’ve written this comprehensive packing list for Scotland that will tell you everything you need to pack, whether you’re travelling from abroad or living locally and you’re planning a day trip to Scotland.
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