Etal Castle & Flodden Exhibition

[cessna152towser]

Just three or four miles from the Flodden battle fields, Etal Castle was built in the mid-14th century by Robert Manners as a defence against Scots raiders, in a strategic position by a ford over the River Till. It fell to James IV’s invading Scots army in 1513, immediately before their catastrophic defeat at nearby Flodden. An award-winning exhibition tells the story of Flodden, and the Anglo-Scottish border warfare which ended with the accession of James VI of Scotland (James I of England) in 1603.

As we approach the castle we encounter the Gatehouse.

Nowadays we enter via an adjacent former church which houses the Flodden exhibition.

A fine display of aretfacts and information.

The exhibition is open daily, 1st April to 30th September 11am till 4pm.
English Heritage, admission £3.50.

The Gatehouse from within the courtyard. The castle formerly comprised a courtyard within four walls which included parapets with a tower at each corner. Today only one wall and two towers plus part of another survive.

Wall and Gatehouse from within the courtyard.

[cessna152towser]

The wall, looking the opposite way towards the remains of one of the corner towers

Diagonally opposite the gatehouse is the residential part of the castle, the Tower House.

The Tower House

Interior of the Tower House. We are standing in the cellar which would have had a vaulted ceiling, with the great hall above it and the sleeping chambers on the two floors above the hall.

This view shows the outline of the vaulted cellar and its ceiling against the walls.

Looking out into the Courtyard from inside the Tower House.

Behind the castle the land begins to slope down towards the River Till, a tributary of the Tweed, which flows into the Tweed about three or four miles north of here at Tillmouth. At Tillmouth the River Tweed marks the national boundary, so we are about three or four miles into England here.

A path leads down to the river bank from where a miniature train will take you two miles upstream to the water powered corn mill at Heatherslaw.

The Lady Augusta is steam powered.

Here is a link to the Flodden battlefield pictures which I posted earlier in the season, in case you missed them.
http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/s...ad.php?t=27784
Thats all for today folks.

[Arlen]

Great as usual, Alex.
Looks like it was a fun trip.

[McMurdo]

Excellent shots again Alex, looks like you had a good day, it even looks like the weather was good for you.

[walkerk]

Thanks for the tour. Were these taken last Saturday? Is there any recognition of the anniversary of the battle or has it become merely a date on the calendar?

[thescot]

Thanks, Alex. Those of us who are too far away can always take a vicarious--and joyous--voyage through your photos.

[McClef]

Great pistures Alex.

A great way of saving money on admissions is to join Historic Scotland as they have an agreement with English Heritage and Cadw - you get 50% discount on admissions in your first year of membership and from the second year of membership entry is then free!

[sirdaniel1975]

Thanks for posting these pix.

I've been reading Magnusson's book, Scotland: The Story of a Nation and recently read the chapter on James IV. Which obviously concludes with the Battle of Flodden.

[ardchoille]

Thank you.. I do so enjoy these pics

[cessna152towser]

Were these taken last Saturday? Is there any recognition of the anniversary of the battle or has it become merely a date on the calendar?

Pictures were taken earlier today.

I am not aware of any official or national recognition of the anniversary of the Battle of Flodden, though commemoration of the Battle of Flodden, and of the much smaller Battle of Hornshole the following year, forms part of the ceremonies of Hawick Common Riding, annually at the beginning of June.