Bothwell Castle was built on the banks of the River Clyde around 10 miles south east from Glasgow.
Construction of the castle started in the 1200’s by Walter of Moray. The position of the castle, on a bend of the river, was important, as it was built to protect the crossing of the Clyde.
However, only the large keep and prison towers were built before the castle was seiged and damaged. Walters original design of the castle was never finished.
The castle was one of Scotland’s most important military strongholds, and changed hands between the Scots and the English numerous times during the Wars of Independence. The castle was first seiged in 1296, when the English King Edward I captured the castle, along with Walter’s son, William. Scotland won the castle back in 1299, only for Edward I to return and retake the castle 1301. Bothwell Catle became the headquarters for the English Army in Scotland.
After Scotland were victorious at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, the English surrendered Bothwell. The Scots destroyed the castle in the hope the English would not return to Bothwell. However, in 1336, it once again became the headquarters for the English army and they rebuilt the castle.
The following year, Sir Andrew Murray of Bothwell, the rightful owner of the castle, seiged and retook the castle. Again the castle was pretty much destroyed.
The Douglasses had taken ownership of the castle by the late 1300’s, with Joan Moray of Bothwell marrying Archibald Douglas. They rebuilt the castle, extending it in the process, building the 2 towers and the great hall.
Bothwell Castle was passed to the Crown in the mid 15th century.
In 1488, the Castle was passed to Patrick Hepburn, who was the 2nd Lord Hailes. The Earldom of Bothwell was created for Patrick. He went on to exchange Bothwell Castle for Hermitage Castle with The 5th Earl of Douglas, Archibald Douglas. The castle passed through generations of Douglases, and eventually they went on to build a mansion close by, using some of the stone from the north east tower, destroying much of it in the process. The mansion house was demolished in 1935 due to safety fears from subsidence.
The castle was passed back to the state in 1935.
Lady Bonnie Jean reportedly haunts Bothwell Castle. Its said that she had fallen in love with a commoner, and she was forbidden from seeing him. Desperate to be with him, she planned to escape the castle, cross the river, and be with her lover. However, the night of her escape was stormy, and while crossing the river on a raft, it overturned and sadly she drowned before she could be with him. Her spirit can reportedly be seen above the Great Tower of the castle, especially on Halloween.
This is the link to the live walkaround I did at Bothwell Castle on the 14th Feb 2019. https://www.facebook.com/ProjectParanormalPage/videos/401710590586985/?eid=ARBQMbVhetBIVZuzpH_sB4jT_o5PlYDYjan2N_LPvp6KjvtZnI0GBfwWeTLBFNCCEd3DDXMEbXKQeRKI
We did a second live here on 8th May 2019 https://www.facebook.com/ProjectParanormalPage/videos/1393665814107275/
Project Paranormal 