Live like royalty (for £160 a night)
To the Queen Mother it was a treasured Highland hideaway.
Her grandson, Prince Charles, spent many a happy holiday there as a child and is still a regular visitor.
Soon members of the public will be able to do the same as the Prince has unveiled plans to create a high-end guest house at the Castle of Mey.
The Duke of Rothesay, as Charles is known in Scotland, is converting the stables and granary at the castle in Caithness into ten luxury guest rooms in a scheme to ‘drive the place forward’.
It is understood that he is being given weekly briefings on the work’s progress ahead of its planned opening next April and has been heavily involved in the design and in choosing the furnishings.
Kenneth Dunsmuir, executive director of the Prince’s Foundation, said: ‘His Royal Highness is trying to keep the castle going in his grandmother’s memory, drive the place forward and give it a great future.
‘It was nearly a ruin before the Queen Mother saved it and I think she would have been so keen to see this project.’
As well as the stables and granary conversion, a new building will be erected to act as a reception, dining room and sitting room.
Mr Dunsmuir said: ‘The new build is lower than the existing granary because of the Prince’s concern for the view line to remain the same.’
In keeping with the Prince’s green credentials, the guesthouse will have eco-heating and the conversion will involve local materials and craftsmen.
The Queen Mother first set eyes on the semi-derelict castle in 1952, then began restoring the property, its walled garden and 24-acre estate.
once the new renovation work is complete, it is expected that guest rooms will cost £160 a night.