Fast Castle
| Fast Castle | |
|---|---|
| Coldingham, Berwickshire, Scotland GB grid reference NT860709 |
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The landward approach to Fast Castle
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 Fast Castle
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| Coordinates | 55°55′57″N 2°13′26″W / 55.9324°N 2.2239°W |
| Type | Courtyard castle |
| Site information | |
| Owner | Private |
| Open to the public |
Yes |
| Condition | Ruined |
| Site history | |
| Built | Unknown, rebuilt 1522 |
| Built by | First phase: unknown Second phase: Earl of Dunbar Third phase: George Home, 4th Lord Home |
| In use | Until 1609 |
| Materials | First phase: unknown Second phase: Stone |
Fast Castle is the ruined remains of a coastal fortress in Berwickshire, south-east Scotland, in the Scottish Borders. It lies 4 miles (6.4 km) north west of the village of Coldingham, and just outside the St Abb's Head National Nature Reserve, run by the National Trust for Scotland. The site is protected as a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Fast Castle, in its heyday, comprised a courtyard and keep, built on a narrow sloping plateau, 27 by 82 metres (89 by 269 ft), on an eponymous promontory overlooking the North Sea. Cliffs up to 45 metres (148 ft) high on either side rendered the castle relatively impregnable. The plateau was surrounded by a curtain wall with towers, with the keep at the northern extremity of the promontory. The castle could only be reached by a drawbridge over a narrow ravine, protected by a barbican. Little remains today of the keep or the courtyard walls except foundations, and a section of the north-east wall. The layout of the castle is very similar to that of Dunnottar Castle in Aberdeenshire, though Fast Castle is on a smaller scale. Access to the sea was via a pulley system with basket. There is a cave at the foot of the cliffs, which, it has been suggested, could once have acted as an access to the interior of the castle by its inhabitants.
It is unclear when the first structure appeared on the site, but its defensible position must have made it attractive to even the earliest inhabitants of the area. There is evidence of Iron Age habitation here, and it was centrally positioned in the British kingdom of Bryneich, and its Anglo-Saxon successor state of Bernicia.
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