Auldhame Castle

Auldhame Castle stands as a ruined L-plan tower house on a ridge above Seacliff beach in East Lothian. It lies about three miles east of North Berwick and less than half a mile from Tantallon Castle. Built in the 16th century, probably by Adam Otterburn of Reidhall, it originally had a three-storey main block with a projecting stair-tower. The castle’s vaulted basement kitchen still shows part of a bread oven, while the upper floors have mostly collapsed. Traces of a decorative frieze remain on some plastered walls. The site holds deeper historical interest beyond its castle ruins. In 756, one of the three supposed corpses of Saint Baldred of Tyninghame was said to have been buried here. Excavations in 2008 uncovered a cemetery with at least 326 skeletons in an adjoining field. Archaeologists also found foundations of a probable chapel dating to the 9th century, based on comparisons with similar structures. Visitors today see the castle’s skeletal remains rising above the ridge, with the sea visible below. The exposed stonework shows the layout of the original tower and stair-tower. Nearby, the quiet beach stretches along the coast, and the ruins of Tantallon Castle lie close by. The open fields around the site add to the sense of history, while the chapel foundations hint at the site’s earlier religious significance.