I usually like to save the best for last, which means leaving the magnificent Duns Castle  at the very last of the month-long Scottish castle theme. There are many things that make Duns Castle special, but their outdoor activities such as Clay Pigeon Shooting, Fishing,Archery, Falconery,Off road driving, Croquet and tennis are why discerning guests keep coming back.

This is a 12-bedroom  six hundred year old Border fighting tower which has been added to over the centuries by the three major Scottish families who have lived in it. The present owner Alexander Hay of Duns, married to Aline, descends from the first Earl of Tweeddale who bought the estates of Duns and Drummelzier in Peebleshire in 1696 for his first son by his second marriage, William Hay, who married the Lady Elizabeth Seton, related by ancestry to Mary Seton, the lady-in-waiting to Mary Queen of Scots.

Once you set foot in the castle, the interiors will take your breath away. The main dining room is the principal 14th century chamber, richly paneled and carved. The drawing room looks over landscaped lawns and lake, and there are 1100 acres of fields, woods and hills to roam in. Roe deer, pheasants and ground game are in abundance. Staffing and catering are in-house.  This is extremely uncommon for a castle of this magnitude, but for three centuries the Hay family have made Duns their home, and it is furnished from the 17th Century with paintings and furniture reflecting the rich tapestry of Scottish life since that time, Dutch, French, English, and native Scottish.

My favorite part is that it is also modernized to be warm and comfortable the timelessness and serenity of its atmosphere is unique.

The area is full of cultural, archeological and leisure interest and conveniently the house is five minutes from the little town of Duns, although you would never imagine it. The location is extremely convenient, Edinburgh is less than one hour away.