Midlothian

Scotland > Central Scotland > Midlothian

Edinburgh used to be the county town of Midlothian but that was before "Local Authority re-organisation" - an oxymoron in anyone's language - in 1975 and 1996.

With the Pentland Hills to the west to the Moorfoots in the east, Midlothian is a mixture of very rich farming land on one hand and old industrial mineworkings on the other.

Historically, one cannot escape the fact that Midlothian soil was veritable battle ground for the defence of Edinburgh and many bloody battles took place here between the Scots and the English. One of the most famous was at Roslin in 1303 whan a 6,000 strong Scottish army partly led by William Wallace defeated a 30,000 strong English.

Roslin features quite strongly in the history of Midlothian , the beautifully ornate Roslin Chapel was built by the Earl of Rosslyn who also helped to design it in 1486. In those days it was known as Collegiate Church of St Matthews. Nearby, the Knights Templar had their headquarters. They came to Scotland having been driven from Mainland Europe and must have brought much wealth with them. Even to this day, Roslin has strong associations with freemasonry because of its Knights Templar links.

South of Dalkeith on the A7 lies Borthwick Castle, built in 1320 and also associated with the Knights. Mary Queen of Scots escaped from here in 1767 in order to meet the Duke of Bothwell whom she later married.

Just to the north east of Borthwick Castle stands Crichton Castle built in the 15th century by the Crichton's who were also involved in dastardly deeds surrounding the Douglasses at Boswell Castle in Lanarkshire which eventually came into their possession.

Today, Dalkeith is the county town. In the past Dalkeith has been a highly important market town and staging post as it is a confluence of many main roads from Berwick, Lauder, Galashiels, Peebles, Lasswade and Edinburgh. Dalkeith Palace dates back to the 12th century. Famous past visitors have included James IV, James VI, Bonnie Prince Charlie (Charles Edward Stuart) and Queen Victoria.

Midlothian is often just passed through en route for Edinburgh. This is a mistake as Midlothian is one of the main reasons that Scotland exists as a Nation at all and, very much like the Borders, was a front line in the battles for independence.