Sleep in a castle ?
 

I've been given some assistance with my itinerary to Great Britain by you winsome travelers.. and now I need to fine tune a few things. I would love to spend a night in a castle. I know there are many out there and I'm sure I could find one but I wonder if I could draw from your suggestions. I've done a search and have found some reviews, but perhaps a few of you could share your experiences. I need something reasonable ($130-180) per night. I have heard of Ruthin through Rick Steve's book and a reviewer found the castle cold and uncomfortable. I suspect that most castles are. :) Anyway, I await any suggestions. Our current travel plan is to take a train from London to Iverness and rent a car and wind back down to London over 12 days. Thanks in advance for your perspectives..
btw.. I did check priceline and they didn't have that category. :>
Petal

Thornbury Castle in England is very nice, and there are several good castle hotels in Scotland. Most tend to be expensive, however, partly because of their upkeep.

I partly answered this in your other thread.

Staying in UK castles run to three basic varieties. Expensive posh castle hotels, less expensive castle hotels like Ruthin which are more "homey" than "palatial", and a few basic hostels in castle settings. For your route and price range - Ruthin would be as good as any.

Most castle stays in England tend to be pricey. I have stayed at Ruthin and was very happy with the experience.I did not find it either cold or uncomfortable. I think it may be your best bet in your price range.

Thornbury Castle is excellent as is The Castle at Taunton, but both are more expensive than your indicated budget.

I have to add that during my stay at Ruthin, I spent most the night gazing out my window at the clouds covering the full moon and wondering if I would catch a glimpse of the ghost of Lady Grey. Alas, she never appeared, but the ambiemce was right.

You could try Tulloch Castle Hotel at Dingwall- much nicer than staying in Inverness anyway.

Others would wholly depend on your route- Stonefield Castle in Argyll? Fernie Castle in Fife?

Traqhair, just south of Edinburgh?

Try this link for something a bit unusual www.charactercollection.co.uk

Found it whilst aimlessly browsing and thought it looked quite different.

historytraveller, I'm laughing because I waited for her and could not believe how disappointed I was until everyone laughed at me at breakfast.

We stayed twice at Traquair House back in the days when the owners took in occasional paying guests. Both times we enjoyed ourselves immensely; the your owners were very personable, the dinners were super, and the peacocks didn't scream very much.

The atmosphere at Traquair is very special, as it's reputed to be the oldest house in Scotland. It's not a castle, just a huge house with a fascinating history that includes Mary Queen of Scots.

Please make that "young" owners.

BTW, the beer made in the castle brewery is excellent, and the grounds are marvelous.

Here's a link for a good number of castle hotels.

http://www.information-britain.co.uk/extras.cfm?type=1

coccinelle, We may still have the last laugh.

I'm still planning this trip to GB and wanted to post that I decided on Ruthin castle. I tried to book Tulluch castle (sp?).. looked PERFECT but it was booked. For a new twist, however, I discovered that my ggrandfather (25+ generations ago) built the original Ruthin castle for Edward I, and so of course, that sealed the deal for me.

Thanks for all the input. It still costs about double what a B&B would be, but then, we get the ghost, too!

We're staying at Craighall Castle in Perthshire Scotland for 70GBP per night in September.

http://www.scotland2000.com/craighall/