Tranquility, history and service - the perfect getaway yet only 13 miles from Edinburgh Airport.

For nearly 600 years Borthwick Castle has overlooked the gently rolling hills on the edge of the romantic Scottish Borders. One can easily imagine that Mary Queen of Scots looked from her bedchamber window onto a very similar landscape in the 16th Century.

The Castle's long and illustrious history has romance and drama and the walls still bear the battle-scars of Cromwell's cannon.

Nowadays, with central heating and en-suite bathrooms, the castle retains a medieval ambience which charms even the most seasoned travelers.

The twin towered fortress of Borthwick Castle was built in 1430 by the first Lord Borthwick, whose sepulchre can still be seen with that of his Lady in the old village church. A charter to build the Castle was awarded to Sir William de Borthwick by King James I in thanks for his part in bringing the King home to Scotland after 18 years imprisonment in England.

The Castle played host to many distinguished guests and Mary Queen of Scots enjoyed the hospitality of the Sixth Lord Borthwick on many occasions, including her honeymoon. So inevitably she and her third husband the Earl of Bothwell sought sanctuary at Borthwick in 1567 when they learned that the Scottish nobles (who were suspicious of Bothwell's influence on Mary) planned to capture them. A force of 1,000 men surrounded the castle but Mary escaped through a window in the Great Hall dressed as a pageboy, and rode through the night after her husband.