📌 Gordon, Scottish Borders
★★
🛠️ Castle closed for masonry work – grounds open (checked July 2025)
“Greenknowe Tower? There’s not much there,” remarked the custodian at nearby Smailholm Tower after he asked us where we were heading next. True – Greenknowe doesn’t stand up well when compared to its rivals in the history-rich Borders. In fact some parts aren’t standing at all: this tower is now a roofless ruin which more birds probably call home than humans ever did. Despite all this, there are still plenty of interesting architectural details, and a spiral staircase is still fully intact to access the floors above – all for free, by the way. Neighbouring Gordon village takes its name from the clan who probably first built a castle here, although most of the surviving parts were constructed for the Seton family in 1581.
🌍 Location
📌 By the A6105 0.5 mi west of Gordon
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NT 640428
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 55.677779,-2.574704
🚌 Bus to Gordon (0.5 mi)
🚗 Layby
📝 Key info
⌚ Always open
🎫 Free
