Dirleton Castle & Gardens

10 Best Castles in Edinburgh | Condé Nast Traveler

"Set within beautifully manicured 19th-century gardens, Dirleton Castle dates back to the 1200s and is located about 45 minutes east of Edinburgh. It housed three noble families until its eventual ruin, in 1650, when Oliver Cromwell came up from England and attacked. The Nisbet family designed gardens around the ruined castle in the 1660s, making them the centerpiece. Dirleton Castle is a great place to introduce castles to kids; it looks like the sort of castle you see in fairytales. Anyone interested in battle history will be thoroughly enthralled here, too." - Freya Herring