The Bass Rock is about offshore, and north-east of North Berwick. This steep-sided island is currently uninhabited, but was lived on for many centuries. It has a castle dating from the 14th century, which was later used as a prison and there are the remains of a chapel built circa 1491. The Lauder family owned the island for almost six centuries, and it now belongs to Sir Hew Dalrymple whose family purchased it in 1701. The rock features in various works of fiction, including Robert Louis Stevenson's "Catriona". At in extent the Bass Rock is the second largest of the islands of the Forth. The Middens is a small stack that lies just offshore to the northwest.