Aikwood Tower

Built in the 1540s at the heart of Ettrick Forest, Aikwood Tower has been sensitively restored and renovated, combining 500 years of history with a sumptuous 21st-century style.

Surrounded by the rolling hills, woodland trails and rivers of the Ettrick and Yarrow valleys, it can be a home-from-home for up to ten guests in five luxury bedrooms.

Show Virtual Tour

Accommodation

Communal Rooms

Whatever the reason for your stay, you will find Aikwood Tower perfect for relaxing, socialising and entertaining. Huge roaring fires, a convivial kitchen and a well-equipped games room all lend themselves to spending quality time with your family and friends. Start your day together over a morning coffee in the AGA-heated kitchen and finish with a wee dram in the early hours, in front of the Great Hall fire.

Entering via the walled garden and west door, Aikwood Tower’s endearing quirks of architecture and craftsmanship are immediately apparent as the Kerry-handed (left turning) spiral staircase lies before you.

Great Hall

Every castle has its own Great Hall, and while Aikwood Tower’s is modest in size, it is as warm and beautiful as any in the land.

Dominated by its rare jogged lintel fireplace with unusual stonemason’s markings, the Great Hall is the central room for converging with other guests and whittling away a fine evening of laughter and conversation.

With exquisite furnishings, plush textures, animal skins on the stone floor and a large basket of logs to keep the fire going, guests are thrust into a magical space to enjoy lively nights and create new memories.

Laird's Study

While fellow guests may be busying themselves in the Great Hall, kitchen, garden or elsewhere, the Laird’s Study provides the perfect space for enjoying some quiet time and a good book.

Kitchen

Aikwood Tower’s fully-equipped kitchen and dining room is a fabulous place to prepare and enjoy the finest ingredients from the local area.

The kitchen, complete with AGA, is in the vaulted ground floor of the tower. When guests are seated at the burr-oak dining table, conversation begins swirling around and contentment soon breeds..

The nearest town for shopping, Selkirk, has a great array of small independent grocery shops and local produce (butcher, baker, deli, pharmacy etc.) plus supermarkets will deliver.

A private chef can be arranged to serve you an extra special meal or stock the fridge with homemade meals.

Laich Hall

The Laich Hall – the ancient Scots word for lower hall – provides fun and games aplenty for house-guests and an inspiring function space for other events.

From giant Jenga to table tennis and Monopoly to Twister, there is a mix of delightful past-times to keep even the most competitive of guests busy!

Gallery

The Gallery – situated above the Laich Hall – is housed in the old byre extension to the main tower building. Thought to be almost as old as the tower itself, it is where the trappings of modern living can be found, ensuring everyone’s entertained, with digital TV, wi-fi and comfortable furniture to laze around on. There is a desk, with laptop, for anyone needing to succumb to the necessities of modern-day life.

The Gallery also houses a small bar for the mixologists among guests, to shake up a fine Martini pre-dinner or pour a warming dram.

Bedrooms

Aikwood Tower has five en-suite bedrooms and can sleep up to ten guests. All the rooms are fitted out with Duxiana beds and are accessorised with tweed throws, cushions and curtains from the local mills.

Four of the bedrooms can be made up as doubles or twins. Each room has a plentiful supply of towels, bathrobes and Aaron Aromatics toiletries. Travel cots and inflatable toddler beds can also be provided and two luxury put-up single beds are available on request for larger parties.

The rooms are named after Scotts with a direct link to the tower: Buccleuch, Sir Walter Scott, Steel, Wizard and Harden.

Buccleuch

After the Second World War, Aikwood Tower passed into the ownership of the Dukes of Buccleuch, whose family home is the nearby Bowhill House.

When the ninth Duke of Buccleuch – John Montague Douglas Scott – succeeded to the title in 1973, he became open to the idea of the decayed Scottish tower houses being restored to their former glory.

In the 1990s, two Ettrick Valley tower shells on the Buccleuch Estate were restored as homes – Kirkhope Tower at Ettrickbridge, and Aikwood Tower.

This room is the tower's master bedroom and bridal suite, with a super-king-size bed (double or twin) and valley views from all corners.

Sir Walter Scott

Sir Walter Scott (1771 – 1832) invented the historical novel. He was the first English-language author to enjoy a truly international career during his lifetime.

As a child, he spent much of his time in the Scottish Borders at his grandfather's farm and drew inspiration from the Border ballads and folklore. His iconic home, Abbotsford, is just ten miles away.

Aikwood Tower itself held a fascination for him, as he placed the origins of more than one of his works here. In old age and failing health, his last outing included Aikwood Tower and nearby Ettrickbridge.

This is a comfortable and snug room with a double bed and en-suite bathroom with slipper bath.

Steel

In his mid-twenties, David Martin Scott Steel was elected MP for Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles at a 1965 by-election, becoming the youngest MP in parliament at the time – the ‘Baby of the House’. He continued to represent the local seat for over 30 years, twelve of them as leader of the Liberal Party.

But he had another ambition in addition to political ones - to restore a derelict Scottish tower - and this was made possible in the late 1980s.

With his wife, Judy, David spent twenty happy and productive years at Aikwood Tower. In 1997, when he was appointed to the House of Lords, he took the title Baron Steel of Aikwood.

This room has a king-size bed (double or twin) with modern en-suite bathroom and views down the drive to the valley.

Wizard

Michael Scott is credited as Scotland’s first scientist, alchemist, sorcerer and astronomer. He is also one of Scotland’s forgotten geniuses. And the 'Wizard of Aikwood'.

Many legends about Scott link him with the ownership of Aikwood Tower, including one regaling his transformation into a hare by the neighbouring Witch of Fauldshope, and his subsequent revenge on her.

Whatever legend may say, there is no dispute that a certain Maister Michael Scott became the first owner of Aikwood by virtue of a feu disposition in name of James V in 1517, and that he or his family built Aikwood Tower.

Nestled in the tower's eaves, this room is reached by 61 steps. It has a king-size bed (double or twin) and en-suite shower room.

Harden

In the 17th century, Aikwood Tower passed to William Scott of Harden, beginning his family’s three-century ownership of it. He was the eldest son of the great Border reiver, Wat of Harden.

Wishing to emulate his father, William led a raid on Elibank Castle on the Tweed, home of Sir Gideon Murray. He was captured and threatened with hanging until Lady Murray intervened: could this young forest laird be persuaded to marry their plain-faced daughter Meg? William was given the choice: "There is your coffin, and there is your bride." After some prevarication, he chose marriage, and it turned out to be one of great happiness.

Perfect for families, this room has a king-size bed (double or twin) and en-suite modern bathroom.

Gardens

Aikwood Tower's south-west facing walled garden and orchard are a beautiful sanctuary all year round. The main lawn area is bordered on two sides by herbaceous beds full of plants, similar to those that would have been found in the fine gardens of the 18th century.

Beyond the lawn is a small orchard where old varieties of apple tree grow and where the wooden'Wendy House for smaller guests resides! The garden is totally enclosed, making it safe for children and dogs to run around in while you relax, play a spot of croquet or rustle up the BBQ!

Activities

The Scottish Borders covers a vast area of outstanding beauty, stretching from the rugged east coast to rural Dumfriesshire and from the English border to the historic city of Edinburgh. The local area offers some of the finest walking, cycling, shooting, fishing and horse-riding in Scotland, alongside historical and cultural attractions, like romantic abbey ruins and magnificent stately homes.

History

The first mention of Aikwood comes in the Lord Treasurer of Scotland’s accounts of 1455, when it was one of the royal forest steadings of Ettrick Forest leased from King James III to Lord Home.

Prices