Hermitage Castle Hermitage Castle is a semi - ruined castle in the border region of Scotland . It is under the care of Historic Scotland . The Castle has a reputation , both from its history and its appearance , as one of the most sinister and atmospheric in Scotland . History . Origins of the name . It is thought that the name derives from Old French : " l ' armitage " – guardhouse . The castle was known as " the guardhouse of the bloodiest valley in Britain " , and the " Strength of Liddesdale " . Hermitage Castle was supposedly built by one Nicholas de Soulis around 1240 , in a typical Norman Motte and Bailey pattern . It stayed in his family until approximately 1320 , when his descendant , William de Soulis forfeited it because of suspected witchcraft and the attempted regicide of King Robert I of Scotland . Legend has it that Soulis ' tenantry , having suffered unbearable depredations , arrested him , and at the nearby " Ninestane Rig " ( a megalithic circle ) , had him boiled to death in molten lead . In actuality , he died , a prisoner , in Dumbarton Castle . Under the Douglases . In 1338 , the then incumbent , Englishman Sir Ralph de Neville was besieged by Sir William Douglas , The Knight of Liddesdale , known as the " Flower of Chivalry " ( this sobriquet had to do with his abilities as a knight , although it is often misinterpreted by people with a rather romantic view of history ) . Upon his death , brought about by near kinsman and namesake , William Douglas , 1st Earl of Douglas , the Castle fell into the hands of the Dacre family for a time ' it soon fell back into the hands of Earl William through inheritance , and it was he that enabled the construction of most of the present building , possibly with the help of John Lewin , master mason at Durham Cathedral . The Earl ' s sons provided the seed of the two famous branches of the house – the ' Black ' ( for Earls of Douglas ) and ' Red ' ( for the Earls of Angus ) . By 1455 the Black line had so incensed the King that James Douglas , 9th Earl of Douglas was forfeited , never to return , and the beneficences that they had enjoyed , passed to the ' Red ' line of Angus , including Hermitage Castle . Under the Hepburns . King James IV was suspicious of the then Earl of Angus , Archibald , Bell the Cat and his relationship with Henry VII of England , and ordered him to resign The Hermitage to the Crown . On March 6 , 1492 , Patrick Hepburn , 1st Earl of Bothwell had a charter of the lands and lordship of Liddesdale , including The Hermitage Castle , etc . , upon the resignation of the same by Archibald Douglas , Earl of Angus , the latter getting the lordship of Bothwell ( but not the Earldom ) which Patrick in turn had resigned for the exchange . The Hepburns of Bothwell , then rising in favour with the king , became keepers and lords of The Hermitage . In time , James Hepburn , 4th Earl of Bothwell held the castle . Mary , Queen of Scots , made a famous marathon journey on horseback to visit the wounded Bothwell there , only a few weeks after the birth of her son . They were to marry shortly after the murder of her 2nd husband Henry Stuart , Lord Darnley , regardless of the fact that Bothwell was implicated amongst the conspirators . After Mary ' s forced abdication following the confrontation at Carberry Hill , Bothwell , facing charges of treason , fled to Norway and his titles and estates were forfeited by Act of Parliament . Whilst attempting to raise an army , to restore Mary to the throne , he was arrested by King Frederik ' s men for breach of marriage contract with Anna Throndsen , and imprisoned at Dragsholm Castle in Denmark , where he died insane and in appalling conditions . His mummified body can still be seen at nearby Fårevejle Church . Bothwell ' s nephew , Francis Stewart , 1st Earl of Bothwell received a new creation as Earl of Bothwell , and Keeper of the castle . A grandson of James V , albeit through an illegitimate line , he was viewed by some as a potential replacement for James VI . In 1591 , Bothwell was arrested , tried , gaoled and forfeited for his supposed involvement with the infamous North Berwick Witches . He obtained a pardon in 1593 but again became involved in intrigue and he was again attainted , by Act of Parliament , on July 21 , 1593 . The Hermitage once again reverted to the Crown . Under the Scotts . The following year , James granted the castle to Sir Walter Scott of Buccleuch , ( " " the bold Buccleuch " " ) a notorious Border reiver , Warden of the western marches , Keeper of Liddesdale , and leader of the daring and infamous attack on Carlisle Castle to rescue Willie Armstrong of Kinmont . Decline . The castle became obsolete after the Union of the Crowns , in 1603 and fell into disrepair , by the turn of the eighteenth century it was a ruin . Hermitage gave its name to the Viscountcy of Hermitage , conferred in 1706 on Henry , third son of the first Duke of Buccleuch as a subsidiary title of the Earldom of Deloraine . This title became extinct in 1807 . Some repairs to the castle were carried out in 1820 by the fifth Duke of Buccleuch . It is interesting to note that the Scotts are descended matrilinearly from the Douglases of Dalkeith , a cadet branch , and sometimes use the surname Montagu - Douglas - Scott , thus maintaining a continuity with earlier times . Today . The Castle remained a property of the Scotts until 1930 , when it was handed over to the care of the Nation . It is now cared for by Historic Scotland , an executive agency of the Scottish Government , and is open to visitors from 1 April - 30 September each year . It is closed during the winter season . The Castle is said to be haunted by Mary Queen of Scots . Certainly , she was said to have lost a timepiece when she fell from her horse in bad weather after her tryst with Bothwell . The location of the find was named the Queen ' s Mire and is situated near Windy Edge , a beautiful , unspoiled bog area which was the old drove road to Jedburgh . The Queen became ill due to her ordeal and recovered in a house in Jedburgh . The hills surrounding the castle are the location for a proposed wind farm development , Windy Edge .