I called in at Gilnockie Tower on my way home from the airport this afternoon.
Early in the 16th century, Johnnie Armstrong, the Border Reiver was given a small area of land by Lord Maxwell, in return for his gang of reivers protecting the laird against the English.
Johnnie and his men quarried stone from the land and built this magnificent Towerhouse.
Besides being a defensive pele tower, it doubled as Johnnie Armstrong's home until he was killed in 1530. The Scots King James V regarded the Border Reivers as a challenge to his authority and set off for the Borderlands with an army to confront the Reivers. When they met at Carlenrig, Armstrong was heavily outnumbered, surrendered to the king and was hanged on the spot.
The tower stands on a promontory by a loop in the River Esk. The steep slopes on three sides assisted in its defence.
Sorry folks, no kilt today as I was on my way home from a challenging flight training session (recoveries from unusual attitudes while in cloud over the Solway coast) and no guided tour of the interior as Gilnockie Tower is not open. It is in the care of the Clan Armstrong Trust and a notice on the door gives a contact through whom guided tours can be arranged. Perhaps this could be the subject of a kilts meet next summer.
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