Description:

Smailholm Tower rises from a rocky perch, surrounded on three sides by stone and on the fourth by a deep ditch. Its walls are a solid 10 feet thick, and it stands nearly 60 feet high. Mostly dating from the 17th century, it was built purely for defense against raids by the Border reivers—an illegal yet lucrative practice carried out for generations by Scots and English families along the fiercely contested border. The tower belonged to the Pringle family in 1408, who had served as squires to the Black Douglas family until their downfall in 1455. David Pringle, along with his eldest son and three brothers, lost their lives in the turmoil at Flodden in 1513.

It was sold to the Scotts of Harden in 1645, but it was abandoned in 1700 for the nearby Sandyknowe Tower.

Personally I found my visit very rewarding as it does give you a sense of border life in the 1600's.