A FAMOUS siege of a medieval castle in East Lothian is set be re-enacted from a nearby beach car park later this year.

Beseiged 2024 will mark the 1298 siege of Dirleton Castle by Antony Bek, the Bishop of Durham, ordered by King Edward I during the Wars of Scottish Independence.

East Lothian councillors today gave the go-ahead for the overspill car park at Yellowcraig to be closed to the public for five days in September to allow the event to go ahead.

However, they were told that the order to restrict public access would only come into place if the event got the final go-ahead from the local authority’s Safety Advisory Group (SAG).

A meeting of the council’s Labour administration cabinet heard that the event still had to be approved by SAG, which had requested an appropriate traffic management plan from organisers.

Ward councillor Jeremy Findlay said that he had been approached by concerned residents worried that access to Yellowcraig would be affected by the closure and the increased number of visitors coming to the re-enactment.

In the interest of safety

He was told that a local farmer had agreed to let event visitors park on a field. The request to deny public access to the overspill car park would allow the event to charge people entrance fees and was in the interest of public safety, the meeting was told.

A report on the exemption order said: “Actors will be dressed in period costumes, demonstrating archery, sword fighting, crafts, songs and dance.”

The siege happened two years after the lord of Dirleton John de Vaux pledged fealty to Edward after he defeated the Scots at Dunbar, removing King John and sending the Scottish crown and Stone of Scone to Westminster.

His loyalty switched back and forward during the wars and, by July 1298, de Vaux supported independence again and was besieged by Bek.

The castle, which was at the centre of numerous sieges in the years that followed, is now overseen by Historic Environment Scotland.

The order banning public access to the car park area will be in place from Wednesday, September 4, to Monday, September 9.