Walk: Yester Castle & the Goblin Ha’

📌 Gifford, East Lothian
★★

Wrap up warm on a trip to Yester Castle, because there’s a strange chill in the air! Concealed by woodland near Gifford village, this fairly substantial ruin was built sometime before 1267 by Hugo de Gifford, grandson of the 1st Laird of Yester. His architectural creation was so fine that magic was believed to be involved; de Gifford was said to be a necromancer, raising an army of hobgoblins to do his will via a pact with the Devil. Where better than a subterranean vault to practise this sorcery? Downhill behind the main structure, an old, miraculously intact tunnel leads to the Goblin’s Ha’ . Access is sadly no longer permitted due to theft of stonework, but I’ve left old photos on this page showing what it looks like inside. In near darkness, a further flight of stairs descends deep into the bedrock from the hall – a gateway to the underworld, perhaps? More likely it served as the castle’s water supply, but you never know. There are several possible routes to the castle, including from Gifford (reportedly with past access issues) and from the south (where permission would be required to park at the golf club). The route described here is a straightforward but very muddy eastern approach – but see the info about parking below.

📷 Chronological photo guide

🌍 Location

📌 Start / finish at Danskine Lodge, B6355 2 mi east of Gifford

🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NT 566674

🛰️ GPS coordinates: 55.897427,-2.695344

❌ No public transport within 1 mi

🚗 Very limited space near track junctions – don’t block access

📝 Key info

▶ 3 km / 2 mi | ▲ 100 m | ⌛ 1 hr

Features: 🏰 Yester Castle & Goblin Ha’ ★★

⬤ Easy | Woodland paths and tracks, but extremely muddy in places. Route finding near the castle is a little complicated – O.S. map advised. Care required around the unmaintained castle ruins.

➡️ Out-and-back walk: start – track along Gifford Water until just before Hopes Burn – Shank Lea Wood – descending path to right – continue ahead until bridge across Hopes Water on right (cross) – Yester Castle & Goblin Ha’ – return by outward route

Download file for GPS

🥾 On our last visit

Wildlife: Grey squirrels, woodpigeons, small birds.

Weather: Cloudy with temperature in high teens, feeling close.

July 2020

Yester Castle & Goblin Ha’ ★★