15 Iconic Buildings to Explore in East Lothian Council

Auldhame is a ruinous 16th-century L-plan tower house. It consisted of a main block of three storeys and a projecting stair-tower and had bartizans crowning the main block. The courtyard side is mostly ruined, but the beach side is more complete. Today it stands empty and ruined and can be visited although visitors should take care of masonry.

Barnes Castle is an unfinished castle, with a number of defensive banks, located 5 kilometres north-east of Haddington in East Lothian, Scotland. It is close to Athelstaneford on the slopes of the Garleton Hills. The remains, also known as Barney Vaults or The Vaults, are protected as a scheduled monument.

Dirleton Castle is a medieval fortress in the village of Dirleton, East Lothian, Scotland. It lies around 2 miles west of North Berwick, and around 19 miles east of Edinburgh. The oldest parts of the castle date to the 13th century, and it was abandoned by the end of the 17th century.

Garleton Castle is an interesting example of a courtyard castle, and originally consisted of three accommodation blocks within a curtain wall. Built in the 16th century, the present castle almost certainly replaced an earlier tower built by the Lindsay family, which was possibly the place of birth of the poet Sir David Lindsay of the Mount in 1486. The Lindsays also owned Byres Castle nearby.

Hailes Castle is a mainly 14th century castle about a mile and a half south-west of East Linton, East Lothian, Scotland. This castle, which has a fine riverside setting, belonged to the Hepburn family during the most important centuries of its existence. Since 1926, it has been the subject of a state-sponsored guardianship agreement, which is now under the auspices of Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument.

Innerwick Castle was a courtyard castle built by the Stewarts around the fourteenth century. It later passed to the Hamilton family and, during their tenure, it was attacked by Henry Percy in 1403 and by Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset in 1548. After this last assault it was slighted and never rebuilt. The castle is ruinous, on private property and has no public access.

Lennoxlove House is a substantial old house incorporating a large tower with a fine interior and pretty gardens and so more. Since 1946 it has been the family home of the Dukes of Hamilton, and it is seasonally open for guided tours: see the Visitor Information section on this page. The house is protected as a category A listed building, and is described by Historic Scotland as "one of Scotland's most ancient and notable houses." The wooded estate is included on the Inventory of Gardens and Des

Luffness is one of the oldest inhabited houses in Scotland. The oldest stonework probably dates from the late eleventh or early twelfth century. It is now a T-plan building, with a stair-tower and turret, and the house was altered and extended in the 17th century, then again in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, including work by William Burn and then by David Bryce.

Preston Mill the last remaining 18th-century watermill that lies in East Linton, encompassed by East Lothian, in Scotland. It lies close to the River Tyne a few hundred yards downstream of East Linton. Since 1951 it has been owned by the National Trust for Scotland and it remained in use as a commercial mill until 1959. The mill complex comprises three main buildings: the kiln, the mill and the miller's house. Externally, the mill stands to the east of the mill-pond, the "header-tank" for the s

Preston Tower is a ruined L-plan keep in the ancient Scottish village of Prestonpans. It is situated within a few metres of two other historic houses, Hamilton House and Northfield House. It stands surrounded by a walled park, which is also home to a lectern doocot. The tower can only be viewed externally, but it remains a fascinating building with a number of very unusual features.

Saltcoats Castle is one of East Lothian's 'forgotten' castles, situated in farmland half a mile south of Gullane. Its story starts with the Livingstone family, who probably built the castle late in the 16th century. The buildings were abandoned around 1800 and gradually dismantled for reuse as construction material in the decades after. It is now roofless. The partly buttressed walls are built of rubble, with dressings and one setback course. It has crow-stepped gables. In the south gable there

Seton Castle was built in the late 1700s on the site of Seton Palace, which was demolished in 1789. The palace, near Longniddry, on the Firth of Forth, formerly belonged to the Earls of Winton and was a popular retreat for Mary, Queen of Scots. She spent time at the palace after the murder of her second husband, Lord Darnley; they had also spent their honeymoon there. The date when the original palace was built is uncertain but it was located on the lands of Seton and Winton.

The St Andrew’s Kirk lies behind North Berwick High Street and adjacent to the Lodge grounds. Now a roofless ruin this Church was built between 1658 and 1664 as a replacement to the original church. The tower was added onto St Andrew’s Kirkports in 1771 and the long disused Kirk bell was rung again. For many years the Kirk remained as a picturesque ruin as was envisaged by the last congregation but by 2009 the distinctive bell shaped roof of the tower became unsafe and had to be removed.

Tantallon Castle in East Lothian, Scotland is a semi-ruined cliff-top fortress. The castle was home to the powerful Red Douglas dynasty, which often clashed with the Crown. It was besieged by both James IV and James V but was ultimately destroyed by Oliver Cromwell’s troops in a siege of 1651. Many artefacts are displayed to help tell its dramatic stories.

Yester Castle is surely one of Scotland’s most memorable and hair-raising castles. Concealed in the woods of the Yester Estate in East Lothian, it dates to the mid-13th century. The only remaining complete structure is the subterranean Goblin Ha' or Hobgoblin Ha' . It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, recorded as such by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland.