Borthwick Castle is one of the largest and best-preserved surviving medieval Scottish fortifications. It is located south-east of Edinburgh, to the east of the village of Borthwick, on a site protected on three sides by a steep fall in the ground. It was constructed in 1430 for Sir William Borthwick, from whom the castle takes its name, Panoramic views of the castle can be seen from the Borders Railway between Edinburgh Waverley and Tweedbank railway stations. History The castle was built at the site of an earlier structure, and it remains the Borthwick family ancestral seat. Sir William Borthwick, later the 1st Lord, obtained from King James I on 2 June 1430 a licence to erect on the Mote of Locherwart, a castle or fortalice. This was unusual in Scotland as nobles generally did not need to get permission for the building and fortifying of a Castle. He acquired a large part of Locherworth from his neighbour William Hay who was resentful of this and jealous of his neighbour's castle. The well-preserved medieval effigies of the builder and his lady can be seen in the nearby parish kirk of St Kentigern, which retains a 15th-century aisle also probably built by him. It was originally a stone enclosure fortress centring on an unusually tall tower house with walls up to thick and in height. The design is a 'U-shaped' keep with a gap between the projecting, slightly asymmetrical, towers. There was a surrounding defensive courtyard with round towers pierced with shot-holes at the corners. While the tower house itself is exceptionally well preserved for its date, the surrounding wall and towers are much restored. Mary, Queen of Scots visited Borthwick in August 1563 and October 1566. On 15 May 1567 she married James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, and in June they came to Borthwick where they were besieged in the castle while under the protection of 6th Lord Borthwick. Mary escaped the siege by disguising herself as a male page. However, the queen was soon arrested and taken to Lochleven castle where she was held in captivity. Bothwell fled to Orkney and Shetland, and from there escaped to Norway, which at the time was under Danish rule. "The king of Denmark kept him in prison as a useful pawn, first in Malmö, then in Dragsholm on Zealand, where he died insane. His embalmed body is preserved in a crypt in