http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/liv...el/14082273.htm
Posted on Sun, Mar. 12, 2006
Moat-worthy Info
PRICE
Trevor Johnson of Historic UK, says castle rates generally start around $88 per person but can exceed $1,755 a night for a luxury suite. For $3,510 and up per night, he notes, some places let you be "king of the castle" or "lord of the manor."The cheapest castle bed in Britain ($22 a night) is at St. Briavel's (Youth Hostel Assoc.; scroll down to and click "St. Briavel's")) in Gloucestershire, a moated Norman edifice with a dungeon. Originally a 13th-century hunting lodge, it's owned by the Youth Hostel Association of England and Wales. Good luck getting a bed: Manager Michelle Redhead says to book a year ahead. Open March-October.
The most expensive bed? Perhaps Skibo Castle ( Carnegie Club), Andrew Carnegie's place on 7,500 acres near Dornoch, Scotland, reportedly the most luxurious private-member club in the world. Guests can visit once ($1,281 to $1,746 a night per person) but to return must apply for membership ($17,554 upfront, $7,021 annually). Besides meals, the rate includes golf, clay pigeon and target pistol shooting, cycling, tennis and other activities.
RENTAL RESOURCES
Historic UK (Historic Uk) is a booking site for a range of historic accommodations, including one in Northern Ireland. It includes photos of 71 castles for two to 100 people and choices for self-catering, bed-and- breakfast and hotel rooms, from basic to luxury. It's a good place to search for specifics and amenities. Prices are usually clearly stated.
The Landmark Trust (Landmark Trust) is a charity that restores old buildings and rents them to self-catering vacationers. Seven of its 180 listings are castles; some (Swarkestone Pavillion, Derbyshire) are gatehouses. The availability list is updated daily, and last-minute bookings are possible. Downside: You have to call for most rates.
The booking company Celtic Castles (Booking Co)lists 45 U.K. castles. The Web site features clear descriptions plus hot finds, such as a small private castle at under $100 per person; a currency calculator; links to castle Web sites; and child-friendly places. Some castles are owner- occupied and not hotels; the exclusive use of 14-bedroom Augill Castle in Cumbria, England, is $13,777 for two nights, while Amhuinnsuidhe on Isle of Harris, Scotland, costs $43,450 per week for up to 20 people, or $17,662 for two nights.
Scottish castles range from rustic one-bath Castle Levan near Glasgow ($105 per person for two to four people) to Stobo near Edinburgh, a sanctuary where $209 and up buys spa and exercise programs.
Castles of Northern Ireland (Discover Northern Ireland; search "Places to Stay" for premises with "castle" in their name) can take you to about a half-dozen possibilities, scattered among other lodgings that are castles in name only.
Castles of the World (Chatelaines Castles) lists only Scottish structures but makes it easy to search by region and whether hotel accommodations or self-catering rentals are available.
The National Trust (NT Cottages), a charity that protects land and preserves buildings, has a Cornwall castle ($581 a week) among more than 320 places.
GENERAL INFO
Check out Castles-of-Britain.com (Castles of Britain) for info about castle history and culture (plus lists with descriptions and links to their Web sites).
Info on visiting Great Britain: VisitBritain: (800) 462-2748, Visit Britain.
Full Version: Renting a castle?
Some of those prices don't sound to bad but some of the others 
I under stand there is a lot of up keep on one but good grief they better come with peasants to bow when you walk buy
I under stand there is a lot of up keep on one but good grief they better come with peasants to bow when you walk buy
I think at Skibo, that's exactly what you get.
Got to admit...great idea someone has there. 
At least it will help get some sturctures the maintanence they need - if they are responsible about their profits that is...
At least it will help get some sturctures the maintanence they need - if they are responsible about their profits that is...
A lot of them restored then rent to recoup the outlay. I agree, any castle kept in use for whatever reason will be repaired and kept up. A vacant building is the one at most risk.
Stay in British castles without paying a royal sum
By Sue Kovach Shuman
THE WASHINGTON POST
Sunday, March 26, 2006
As night settled over the Welsh mountains, I heard goats bleating. But where were they? Standing in the courtyard, I saw only Craig-y-Nos Castle towering over me, and the sound seemed to emanate from within its gray stone facade. Then I saw curtains flutter in the attic. A ghost?
More Addams Family manse than stately manor, Craig-y-Nos — in south Wales, about 20 miles north of Swansea — wasn't the fairy-tale castle I'd imagined. I'd wanted to dream where knights and maidens had slept. I'd wanted a four-poster bed, chocolates on my pillow, maybe even romance.
Simply put, I wanted to escape my suburban split-foyer for the splendor of a UK castle. But at what cost? My husband, Gene, and I decided to find out last June, which is peak season for visitors and when rates are highest. We scaled down expectations, focusing on places around $100 per night.
Believe it or not, they exist.
While most may associate castles with romance and royalty, they weren't built for comfort. "Castles were properly fortified structures," said historian Lise Hull, who maintains the Web site Castles-of-britain.com. And, she said, real castles were built from the 11th century into the 16th century — anything after that "can be considered mock castles . . . really only fine homes." Hull said at least 2,364 medieval castles remain. Trevor Johnson of Historic UK magazine noted that many structures we now call castles were built in the mid- to late- 1880s by "Victorian men with more money than sense."
Some serve as public museums, while others make money from group events such as weddings. At least 90 in Britain are hotels or rent rooms. A few cash-strapped private owners even welcome guests into their homes.
To me, size and luxury meant less than location. Using an atlas, I mapped a 1,600-mile road trip from London west to Wales, then north to the Scottish Highlands. Along our route, we'd stop at three very different castles: Gothic Craig-y-Nos in Brecon Beacons National Park, Wales; medieval Langley, near Hexham, England; and austere Carbisdale, a Scottish Highlands hostel. Two were haunted. At one, I was treated like a queen; at another, a dorm bed had to suffice.
Each had its charms, but I'll take the royal treatment over poltergeists any day.
By Sue Kovach Shuman
THE WASHINGTON POST
Sunday, March 26, 2006
As night settled over the Welsh mountains, I heard goats bleating. But where were they? Standing in the courtyard, I saw only Craig-y-Nos Castle towering over me, and the sound seemed to emanate from within its gray stone facade. Then I saw curtains flutter in the attic. A ghost?
More Addams Family manse than stately manor, Craig-y-Nos — in south Wales, about 20 miles north of Swansea — wasn't the fairy-tale castle I'd imagined. I'd wanted to dream where knights and maidens had slept. I'd wanted a four-poster bed, chocolates on my pillow, maybe even romance.
Simply put, I wanted to escape my suburban split-foyer for the splendor of a UK castle. But at what cost? My husband, Gene, and I decided to find out last June, which is peak season for visitors and when rates are highest. We scaled down expectations, focusing on places around $100 per night.
Believe it or not, they exist.
While most may associate castles with romance and royalty, they weren't built for comfort. "Castles were properly fortified structures," said historian Lise Hull, who maintains the Web site Castles-of-britain.com. And, she said, real castles were built from the 11th century into the 16th century — anything after that "can be considered mock castles . . . really only fine homes." Hull said at least 2,364 medieval castles remain. Trevor Johnson of Historic UK magazine noted that many structures we now call castles were built in the mid- to late- 1880s by "Victorian men with more money than sense."
Some serve as public museums, while others make money from group events such as weddings. At least 90 in Britain are hotels or rent rooms. A few cash-strapped private owners even welcome guests into their homes.
To me, size and luxury meant less than location. Using an atlas, I mapped a 1,600-mile road trip from London west to Wales, then north to the Scottish Highlands. Along our route, we'd stop at three very different castles: Gothic Craig-y-Nos in Brecon Beacons National Park, Wales; medieval Langley, near Hexham, England; and austere Carbisdale, a Scottish Highlands hostel. Two were haunted. At one, I was treated like a queen; at another, a dorm bed had to suffice.
Each had its charms, but I'll take the royal treatment over poltergeists any day.
this is the place I was looking to post the other article...I couldnt seem to find it so I made a new topic....my topic can/should go with this one.
you can move it your self if you so wish 
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