Property porn: Incredible castles for sale in the UK

A wide view of the medieval Windsor Castle and gardens bathed in glorious sunny weather
Windsor castle is beautiful, but this one's not for sale...(Getty Images) (fsamora via Getty Images)

They say a man's house is his castle. Well, for some lucky men (and women!) that's not just a figure of speech.

Castles aren't just for day trips and school history visits - there are thousands of them in the UK, and many of them are surprisingly suitable for modern-day living.

Watch: You can rent this 'castle cottage' overlooking a gorgeous lake in New York

In fact dozens of gorgeous, historic castles - often featuring moats, portcullises and the whole shebang - are on sale to the general public in the UK right now.

Finding them is as easy as looking on a property site such as Rightmove, or browsing the specialist castle property site Castleist (it will be your new guilty pleasure, we promise you).

Here are some of the most glorious castles available to buy - because we can always dream, right?

Orchardton Castle, £1.75m

Orchaton Castle is fit for a King or Queen (Fine & Country)
Orchaton Castle is fit for a King or Queen (Fine & Country)

This Grade B listed, 20 bedroom castle on the beautiful Solway Coast comes set in five acres of impressive grounds including extensive lawns, woods and paddocks.

You really would feel like the King or Queen of the castle living in this 18th century residence, which is so big it features 30 - count 'em - working fireplaces. Suddenly that 1.75m price-tag seems pretty reasonable.

Brechin Castle, offers over £3m

Brechin Castle comes with 70 acres of land - not too shabby at all (Savills)
Brechin Castle comes with 70 acres of land - not too shabby at all (Savills)

With offers starting at a cool £3m, Brechin Castle offers the chance to live in one of the most important and historic castles in Scotland. Built during the 13th century, it was largely reconstructed in its current elegant form in the 1700s.

While the castle itself has 18 bedrooms, the property comes with five estate cottages - and we'd happily live in any of them. There's also a famed walled garden for you to get your green fingers on.

You could be kicking back in the ornate interiors of Brechin castle of an evening (Image: Savills)
You could be kicking back in the ornate interiors of Brechin castle of an evening (Image: Savills)

Earlshall Castle, POA

Earlshall Castle
You'll need to invest in some hedge trimmers at Earlshall Castle (Savills)

Building on this storybook-looking castle near Fife (are you sensing a Scottish theme here?) was begun by Sir William Bruce back in 1546. The 10-bedroom pad comes with a magnificent walled garden, three cottages, outbuildings, parkland and a famed topiary lawn - with hedges that are over 125 years old.

This plush wood-panelled room could be yours - yes please (Image: Savills)
This plush wood-panelled room could be yours - yes please (Image: Savills) (Savills Earlshall Castle)

Read more: Baronial Scottish castle for sale for £650

Fa'side Castle, 1.7m

Fa'side castle
Fa'side castle (Angus Behm - SquareFoot)

With panoramic views over the Firth of Forth, this 14th century castle would be the perfect spot for some very lucky Edinburgh commuters.

Fa'Side castle
The delightfully grand interior of Fa'Side Castle (Image: Savills) (Angus Behm - SquareFoot)

Some rooms feature magnificent painted ceilings, and there's a huge Great Hall to live out all your Hogwarts banquet fantasies. There's even a historic stone toilet, located behind a tartan curtain, which is dubbed the Laird's Lug!

Dornoch Castle Hotel, £2.5m

Why buy a castle when you could buy...a castle hotel? (Image: Strutt and Parker)
Why buy a castle when you could buy...a castle hotel? (Image: Strutt and Parker)

This 15th century castle in the historic cathedral town of Dornoch became a hotel way back in 1947, and its lucky new owner would be only the third person to own it since that date.

Listed by Historic Scotland and lying within a conservation area, it's an incredible business opportunity - good luckk cleaning the 22 bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms though.

Advertisement