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Ayton Castle, widely regarded as Scotland’s finest baronial-style building with seventeen bedrooms, a successful livery business and its own narrow gauge railway near Berwick-upon-Tweed, has come to market for offers over £3,250,000.
The Castle, which has a significant portfolio of income generating estate cottages, gate lodges and stable flats, is one of only two Baronial structures by architect James Gillespie Graham.
Ayton Castle is set in 160.56 acres of wonderful Scottish Borders country and is a fabulous example of baronial-style architecture and features a beehive type16th century dovecot among garden terraces, parkland and attractive woodland, which together make an outstanding scenic contribution to the local landscape.
The Castle, built around a medieval tower house, has interior schemes by Scotland’s then leading houses decorators, Bonnar & Carfrae, which made such an impact on Mark Twain, author of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, that in 1873 he bought the Dining Room fireplace mantel which is now housed in the Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford, Connecticut. Uniquely, the Barony of Ayton, which dates back to 1324, is also available for purchase.
“This is an iconic Scottish Castle with land, extensive secondary accommodation and limitless potential.”
Since 2014, the current owners have undertaken significant improvements including partial rewiring, re-plumbing and the redecoration of several of the principal rooms. They have also created a formal garden to the southern front of the house and installed a 10¼-inch gauge 600m railway which winds through part of the grounds.
The owners run a successful livery business centred around the impressive stable block which is a two storey courtyard complex with three stable flats. There is stabling for approximately nine horses, various loose boxes, several stores, a staff room, a tack room, workshop and a double garage.
There is an all-weather manège, which is actively used for the training of horses in riding and dressage skills with a further four loose boxes behind a barn which stores hay and straw.
The three state rooms feature magnificent 17th-century Scottish-style plasterwork. At the southern end lies the family wing, with service areas and a courtyard to the north. Beyond the formal rooms is a private chapel with a kitchenette and dining space. The main kitchen, with a butler’s pantry, is conveniently located near the dining room and the rear service entrance
A broad turnpike staircase leads from the gallery to the first floor, with additional stairs to upper levels. The first floor offers twelve bedrooms and six bathrooms, with four more bedrooms and two bathrooms on the second floor. Lower ground and basement levels provide secondary accommodation, including a former servants’ hall, storerooms, and domestic quarters around the service courtyard
At the front of the castle are formal grounds and the narrow gauge railway which comes with its own platform, ticket office, engine/rolling stock shed and joiner’s shop and is a popular wedding destination.
The property lies two miles from the stunning Berwickshire coast and near the village of Ayton, which has a store, primary school and pub. Berwick-upon-Tweed, seven miles away, offers East Coast rail links to Edinburgh and London, while the nearby A1 provides access to Edinburgh and Newcastle airports.
Ayton Castle is on the market through the GSC Grays Alnwick office (Tel: 01665 568310) with a guide price of offers over £3,250,000.
Further details: Ayton Castle, Eyemouth | GSC Grays | Rural Land & Property Specialists
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