A grim Border stronghold at the heart of reiver country, fought over for generations.
What happened here?
Hermitage Castle sits deep in the valley of the Hermitage Water, in Liddesdale — remote even today. Historic Environment Scotland describes it as a stronghold "targeted for 400 years because of its strategic role in controlling the Scottish Middle March," the buffer zone between the two kingdoms.
It was fought over repeatedly through centuries of Anglo-Scottish conflict, changing hands between Border families and the Crown alike.
Why does this matter to the Armstrong story?
Hermitage is the Crown's answer to reiver power — a fortress built to project royal authority into ground the Armstrongs and their neighbours otherwise controlled. Standing here after Gilnockie, you're seeing the other side of the story: the world that made men like Johnnie Armstrong both possible and, ultimately, expendable to the Crown that needed to look strong.
Who else is connected here?
Hermitage is also where Mary, Queen of Scots made her famous ride in October 1566, travelling from Jedburgh to visit the wounded Earl of Bothwell — a journey that later fed rumours about their relationship, decades after Johnnie Armstrong's hanging.
What to look for while you're here
- The castle's stark, almost windowless outer walls — built to intimidate as much as to defend.
- How isolated the site still feels, deep in Liddesdale — a sense of how far this was from any quick help, for defenders or attackers alike.
- Seasonal opening (1 April to 30 September only) — the castle is closed in winter, so check before planning around it.