Littledean Tower

Littledean Tower

Returned to Littledean Tower, glad to see the weeds have gone a bit now and you can get easier access to the site.

"Littledean Tower was the principal residence of the Kers of Littledean, and was built on the site of an earlier fort.
Standing on the south bank of the River Tweed, the site is close to an old ford, and so may have been built to protect this river crossing. When the site was first occupied is unclear, although the remains of a prehistoric fort have been identified.
Whether or not there was a continuous period of occupation over the centuries is unknown, as the earliest portions of Littledean Tower are thought to date to two periods in the 16th century.
However there was certainly a castle here prior to that, as the Kers of Cessford made this site the principal residence of their barony of Maxton, with that branch later becoming known as the Kers of Littledean.
In the late 15th or early 16th century a Mark Ker of Littledean married a Marjorie Ainslie of Dolphinston, and Dolphinston Castle passed into the Ker family at that time." (from stravaiging.com)

You can see our previous visit to Littledean Tower here

Ladykirk-Norham Bridge

Ladykirk-Norham Bridge

The Ladykirk and Norham Bridge connects Scotland and England over the River Tweed. The bridge runs from Ladykirk in the Scottish Borders to Norham in Northumberland, England.

"It is a late stone road arch bridge with four spans. The two middle arches are of 90 feet (27 m) span, and the outer two of 85 feet (26 m) span, and the width of the roadway between the parapets is 14 feet (4.3 m). The outer piers have triangular cutwaters, but the central pier has a curved cutwater that continues up to the height of the road, with a break in the parapet to create a refuge for pedestrians.

The previous bridge was a timber trestle built between 1838 and 1839 by J. Blackmore. The bridge was funded by subscribers purchasing shares; David Robertson, 1st Baron Marjoribanks paid L.3000, and ten others paid L.500 each.
This bridge used curved ribs eight planks deep at the ends and three planks deep in the middle, where each individual plank is 6 inches (150 mm) deep. These were used to create two arches, each of 190 feet (58 m) span and 17 feet (5.2 m) rise, each arch was supported by two trusses. The planks were 18 feet (5.5 m) long, and no piece of timber in the bridge was longer than 28 feet (8.5 m). The roadway was 18 feet (5.5 m) wide. The entire bridge was restored in 1852, with the exception of the stone piers." (from Wikipedia)

Minto Old Parish Church

Minto Old Parish Church

This old Parish Church is a ruin but still has medieval traces including some of Norman/Romanesque period. The earliest record of Minto ("Myntowe") church is in Bagimont’s Rolls of 1275, this old church was replaced in 1831 by The (new) Parish Church of Minto. The old church which contained burial vaults of Minto’s lairds, baronets, and earls, was demolished and made into a rose garden while gravestones were grouped into the remains of the vestry.
During the demolition of the church, a collection of 400 silver coins were found. They were mostly silver pennies of Edward I, Edward II, and Edward III with one or two of the Scottish kings Alexander III and Robert the Bruce.

There are several old gravestones and memorial stones both within the ruin and in the surrounding area, there is a table tomb and also there is a set of Jougs hanging outside the ruin with a collar measuring about 6" in diameter. The jougs are in really good condition which suggests they are a fairly modern addition.