Date
26 August 2015
Location
Minto Craigs, Scottish Borders
NT 58201 20870; 55.47982°N, 2.66288°W
Information
“Fatlips Castle
“The original pele tower was built by the Turnbulls of Bedrule in the early 16th century, before being effectively destroyed by the Earl of Hertford in 1545. Very little remained.
“The castle was re-built in its current format in 1857 by the Elliots of Minto. It was modified to designs by the famous architect, Sir Robert Lorimer, in 1897 for the 4th Earl of Minto and was used as a museum until the late 1960s when it was closed and secured.
“The origin of the name is uncertain, but one idea is that it derives from the look of Turnbull of Barnhills. There are other stories, including that of a goat on the dunion which warned of the approaching English, or that gentlemen were traditionally allowed to kiss one of the ladies on entering.
“In 2011 Tweed Forum, with funding from Historic Scotland, the Elliots of Minto and Scottish Borders Council, commenced consolidation caused by major vandalism. The work was completed in March 2013 to the original Lorimer design.”
— Information plaque
Further Reading
Fatlips Castle
(Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland);
Fatlips Castle (Wikipedia)
Loving these posts from the borders, it’s in my travelling distance so am becoming inspired! Great photos, of course 😊
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Glad you are liking them! Although it was only a few weeks ago, it seems so long ago now that I was there. So posting these photos is a nice way of reliving the trip.
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Third pic is my fave with that little lamb included. The name of the place made me laugh a lot. Anyway…It looks like you had a beautiful day…very dreamy.
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Yes, it is a funny name for a castle, isn’t it?
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These are lovely photos, Graham. I like the mixture of tiles and slates on the roof, particularly the fish-tail work on the tower which is of a very high order.
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Thanks, Iain. It is a bit unusual to see slates and tiles together.
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Great photos…but what a way to ruin a castle, with a name like “Fatlips.” Honestly, I could never take that castle seriously. 🙂
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Thanks, CW! Yeah, crazy name for a castle, huh?
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interesting name lol 🙂 so this is along Scottish borders, but still in Wales? beautiful images, Graham…
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Yes, that’s a great name, isn’t it? The Scottish Borders is a region in Scotland along the border with England. Wales is a bit further south in the UK and shares a border with England, but not with Scotland.
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obviously geography is not my forte lol (blush)… 🙂 but… thanks to you I now know about Scottish borders, so keep those wonderful photos coming 🙂
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You’ve brought us a real treasure in this place, great pics as always, but what names to conjure with- apart from Fatlips there’s Minto and Bedrule. Sounds like something from a storybook!
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Many thanks, theresagreen. Glad you liked the photos and also the names 🙂
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