Tantallon Castle, East Lothian
Tantallon Castle sits on a cliff top overlooking the Firth of Forth and the North Sea beyond and was the stronghold of the Douglases, a family that rose to power at the time of King Robert the Bruce. Tantallon Castle and Bass Rock - 364 second exposure has blurred the sky and the sea History of Tantallon Castle Mighty Tantallon Castle was built in the 1350s by a nobleman at the height of his power. In 1354, William Douglas came into possession of all his father’s lands, as well as those of his uncle, ‘the Good Sir James of Douglas’, a close friend of King Robert Bruce. The estates included the barony of North Berwick. In 1358 William was created Earl of Douglas, by which date the builders may already have begun to build his new stronghold. In the 1380s the dynastic house of Douglas split into two branches, known as the ‘Black’ and the ‘Red’. Tantallon passed to the junior line, the ‘Red Douglases’, Earls of Angus. For the next 300 years, the earls of Angus held sway at t...