Raid the market now for great deal on a castle

By Heather Rose
Posted: 2009/03/12

NO MATTER how small our home is, most of us like to think of it as our castle. However, for some sharp-eyed house hunters, the dream of being at home in a real-life castle could soon come tr

There is an array of castles currently for sale in Scotland, ranging in size from palatial to modest, in condition from luxurious splendour to requiring significant work, and in price from the multi-million-pound bracket to comparatively affordable.

One of the most outstanding is Midmar Castle in Aberdeenshire, one of the fi ve principal castles of Mar and the only one which is in private ownership.

This A-listed, 16th-century castle, which sits in 185 acres, is on the market through property consultants Knight Frank with an asking price of £5.5million.

Understood to have been built by Sir William Wallace for Sir Thomas Longavale, its square towers date from 1411 with the main towers added in 1565.

Among the long list of special extras included in the price is a hydro electric plant and the title of Baron of Midmar.

On the other side of the country, Knight Frank are marketing Muckcairn Castle and estate not far from Oban.

This £3.5million baronial style castle comes with about 230 acres and includes a tennis court, a boathouse with a jetty and deep water pier, fishing on the Alt Nathias River, three cottages and about 3km of Loch Etive shoreline. Very different is Westhall Castle at Oyne, 25 miles from Aberdeen.

It is selling through the Brechin office of agents Savills and carries a price around the same as that for an upmarket family home in suburbia - offers over £850,000.

Believed to date from the 16th century and set in over 54 acres, Westhall has five reception rooms, 15 bedrooms, a walled garden, a courtyard with planning potential, three cottages and paddocks. If all this sounds too good to be true, it is worth noting the fact the castle in need of renovation.

By comparison, Powrie Castle near Dundee has been fully restored. Also being marketed by Savills, Powrie is selling at offers in excess of £650,000.

A dream for those seeking an out-of-the ordinary home, it features a kitchen in what was the vaulted bakery, complete with original bread oven.

Head northwards to Banffshire and homehunters could land Fordyce Castle near Portsoy, on sale at offers in excess of £800,000.

Modest in size it, too, has been restored, in co-operation with Historic Scotland. As well as a great hall, vaulted dining room, four bedrooms, an attic room and study, there is a two-bedroom wing plus a two-bedroom cottage and a gallery which has two store rooms and a work room.

For those dreaming of a castle lifestyle in central belt commuting country, agents CKD Galbraith in Ayr have recently taken Woodside Castle near Beith on to their books.

An A-listed mansion within a 60-acre secluded estate, it dates back to 1551 and was originally a square tower, a section that remains part of the main building.

Priced at offers over £1.45million, Woodside has been altered and extended several times over the years. Recently refurbished, accommodation spans five floors, ranging from the vaulted dungeons to the tower bedrooms on the second and third floors.

Comparatively modern is Craigrownie Castle at Cove. This B-listed six-storey Scots Baronial-style home, which is selling through Savills at £795,000, dates from 1854 and is the only castle designed by Alexander Greek Thomson.

Information: Knight Frank - 0131 222 9601; Savills, Brechin - 01356 628628, Glasgow - 0141 222 5874;
CKD Galbraith - 01292 268181