Fancy a castle for the daily commute?
Ancient pile is perfectly placed at centre of the transport hub
IT could be called the perfect castle for the commuter, an ancient pile at the heart of Scotland’s transport network. The warm rubble construction of Illieston Castle can only be found by wandering down some country lanes, close to a kink in the River Almond. Yet travel less than six miles and you are at Edinburgh Airport, close to the axis of the country’s motorway system.
From here, you could be in Stirling in 35 minutes via the M9, Glasgow in 40 minutes via the M8 and Edinburgh city centre in no time by hopping onto a tram at Ingliston or a train at Livingston or Uphall.
If planes, trains and automobiles is not enough for you, the nearby Union Canal offers the slower pace of barge travel as well.
Illieston Castle, near Broxburn in West Lothian, has been a labour of love for the past nine years for current owner Nicholas Schellenberg. He runs a renovation business, restoring properties from Sutherland to the Borders.
Suffice to say, at Illieston he tends to bring his work home with him. The castle has been fashioned internally to provide comfortable modern living. No draughty Great Hall here, the accommodation has been laid out in the style of a 19th Century house.
It’s a style and location that appeals not only to Mr Schellenberg and his family but visitors from all over the world.
He recently opened up his home as an Airbnb venue, offering tourists the chance to stay in a genuine Scottish castle for less than 70 quid a night.
He said: ‘We had a female pilot here the other day. She couldn’t believe she was just a ten-minute drive from the airport. She said her night in the castle with us was far more enjoyable than staying at an anonymous airport hotel.’
Needless to say, proximity to an airport did not feature in the thinking of the Scottish kings who used Illieston as a royal hunting base as long ago as the 15th Century. It’s believed James II and James IV made use of it while resident at Linlithgow Palace, taking part in falconry, hunting and salmon fishing on the River Almond.
Today’s building is the result of centuries of evolution, most recently in the late 1850s when considerable renovations were carried out by the Earl of Hopetoun.
You approach Illieston down a tree-lined avenue, passing a pair of intricate baroque gates on your way into a gravelled courtyard.
The heavy wooden door opens into a large vestibule, with an internal glass door leading to a welcoming hall.
The dining room on the right is full of character, rich in original features but with the comfort of a modern multi-fuel stove in the fireplace.
There’s a snug next to the kitchen, equipped with a two-oven Aga which the owners sent to Bristol to be restored. From here, you can access a large utility room and rear porch.
A stone staircase leads up from the hall, where you will find a double bedroom, bathroom and formal drawing room. It is this space which is currently offered via Airbnb.
The spiral staircase continues to the second floor, where two further bedrooms and the master suite are located.
A secondary staircase delivers you into a small turret room, currently used as a study and spare bedroom. There are also two floored attics.
In the 18 acres of grounds, you will find a bothy ‘garden studio’ and shed. The bothy is also let through Airbnb.
Jamie Macnab of selling agent Savills said: ‘It is a special place.
‘You only find it down twisting country lanes, yet you are within touching distance of the airport and motorway network.’
Offers over £950,000 to Jamie Macnab. Tel 0131 247 3738 or email jmacnab@savills. com