Braidwood Castle UK10672

“Amazing place to stay in a perfect setting. You really can be KingQueen of the Castle.It's unique and somewhere everyone should stay....at least once!!”

“Lovely place...very unique... Very peaceful....”

“Had fantastic week loved the castle nice and quiet lovely walks .Great would go again .”

“What a unique and magical experience staying in this beautiful, historic tower. After first day we got used to the stairs and realised it was best to carry our things up and downstairs in backpack, as saved additional trips and also freed up our hands to hold rail and carry our wee dogs up and down. Amazing location with access to beautiful garden area and a large orchard. It was just fantastic to get out and about for walks to nearby locations such as the Falls of Clyde, a short drive away and then collect apples from the orchard to make apple pie before relaxing in front of log fire and playing board games, reading books, enjoying a port and toasting marshmallows. The kitchen is cosy and well equipped to make nice meals with the added bonus of dishwasher and fridge and freezer and a beautiful welcome basket full of Scottish foodsdrinks. So much fun, back to basics in a way, while having all the modern facilities and equipment we required to make our stay at Braidwood Castle perfect. Bedding was spotless, clean and fresh and beds very comfortable, despite initially thinking they seemed very firm. Showerbathroom facilities and heating all excellent and a huge supply of logs at hand for log burner. We stayed for 4 nights but next time I'd book it for a week. Would have just loved another couple of days to relax in the tower and the grounds. I came with my 75 year old mum and 25 year old daughter and our 2 dogs and it turned out to be a dream holiday for us all. My mum is very fit, I did consider coming with my uncle and giving him the bedroom on lower level but realise now he would have found it a challenge to even reach the lower floors to lounge and bedroom due to his poor mobility and balance so probably just as well he decided not to join us. Next time I may book the cottage as well as the tower as this would suit my uncle perfectly, giving him his own space on one level while allowing him to still participate in this magical experience and surroundings.”

“You get to stay in a minicastle the kids loved it!”

“A very special place in a beautiful location with easy access to both Edinburgh and Glasgow. The only sounds we heard were from the donkeys on the neighbouring property so we never had to worry that the children were disturbing anyone when they played and shouted on the field in the orchard. Pity it was probably a week too early to pick the abundant fruit in the orchard. What plums we did pick were delicious. We mastered climbing and descending the very steep stairs pretty quickly and remembered to take everything we needed for the day down first thing in the morning. Everyone enjoyed the stay here.”

“A very interesting property and definitely not for those with mobility issues. However a beautiful and charming stay in a tower that is well kitted out and the renovation is amazing. Highlight is the ceiling in the sitting room as well as the top room. Would definitely recommend.”

“This lovely historic tower truly provides a unique holiday home. We absolutely loved staying in a tower but you need to be able to climb steep narrow stairs to stay here. But if this is no problem then this tower provides a wonderful experience. Waking up and walking out onto the external gantry and being at the level of the tree canopy was a delight. A true bird's eye view. The log burning stove in the lounge kept us cosy on the coldest of evenings. Loved it!”

“Great stay. Tower a great experience.”

“What an adventure! We have never had a holiday in a castle before and this 1 week break was great fun. The kitchen is very well equipped with everything you could want with dishwasher, freezer, fridge, oven, electric hob and microwave. Plenty of plates and cutlery, its very cozy down there with all the original brick work and an arch ceiling. A small toilet is next to the kitchen as is a store cupboard. We were just 2 people for the week so put some of the kitchen chairs into the store room to create some extra space.A flight of steep stone stairs takes you up to the great room level. Full of character with a stone floor, wood burning stove (logs supplied outside under the external staircase up to this level) and carved beams with very creative excerpts from the Lockheart family crest hand painted onto the ceiling timbers including the Lockhart family crest motto "Corda Serrata Pando". There are some very interesting facts about the owners, the Lockharts and this castle has been in their hands for 350 years or so. Fascinating stuff.Check it out on Google. Comfortable sofas and a lovely room to spend a cold afternoon in with a good book and a spendid glass of scotch with a roaring fire. WiFi here worked ok, just needs a reboot now and again with the power switch at the back.By this time you will be starting to develop the "Castle Stoop" to duck under the 5ft high stone door frames, not so much of an issue to me at 5ft 7 inches buy my wife is a couple of inches taller and took a few bashes! Up the next flight of stone stairs to the 3rd level with a small single room and a family bathroom with toilet, sink, over bath shower. Always plenty of hot water and good pressure while we were there. In a small store cupboard in a stone wall is the top loading washing machine, I reckon it was the only place it could have gone. Worked fine.Up the next flight of steep stone stairs to the 4th level. A larger twin bedroom here with original curved stone ceilings and a window looking out to the orchard. A night storage heater in here which kept the room warm, however it was the only room out of them all which has a musty damp smell. It was not bad, however lets face it you are in a restored 500 year old castle so you make allowances for these things. A sink and shaving mirror here too. No wardrobes in any rooms just a coat stand here and a folding screen. We used this to hang our clothes on and this room as our dressing room so bring plenty of spare hangers, we have some folding plastic travel hangers which are perfect.So up the final flight of steep stone stairs, I think my wife counted 58 steps in total so you need to be fit and agile to stay here, dont be fooled. There are robust metal handrails down the side of each set of stairs and you must use them as many steps are of different depth, height and a few are worn so the odd one will catch you out. Out through the door at the top and onto the battlements of the 5th level. Lovely views from here across the trees and farmland. Great views on a clear night of the heavens, shooting stars and listen to the local owls hooting.Through the door and into the master bedroom. There is a double bed here, the mattress is pretty firm which the wife struggled with. A beautiful feature window is above the head of the bed with a curtain, stone floor with rugs and a couple of heaters to keep you warm. It was pretty cold the first night until I figured out that the smaller one is a convector and that soon warmed us up. Another door takes you out onto the opposite side battlements where you can view the road in past the bothy cottage (which can also be rented) and also the orchard which we saw some deer in. The trees in the orchard do need a hard prune back as it all looks very wild and untouched. The ensuite bathroom is very tastfully fitted out and nice quality toletries in pump dispensers in every bathroomtoilet throughout. Lovely corner shower completes this ensuite. Its a shame that the roof has been clad in pine rather than oak as it gives the bedroom sort of like a Scandanavian sauna feel, it would have cost a bit more but looked much better in our opinionYou quickly learn to only carry what you need for the day or night as it would some become tiresome to be having to constantly climb up and down! The owner was very helpful, we never met but he answered several questions we had by WhatsApp.I was sorry to leave, we will have unforgettable memories of Braidwood Castle (its on the map as Tower of Hallbar its other name). If you are looking for something completely different then this is it. Our only dissapointment was that we could not find any descent length walks from the property, everything seemed to be private roads etc and no safe pathways on the main road. Walkways on the OS map we could see were simply no longer there. We did have a cold bright day and walked along the Falls of Clyde down in New Lanark which is only 15 mins away and highly recommened.Tesco and Lidl are in Carluke just a couple of miles away so plenty of good choice for shopping, no real need to bring a lot with you.Enjoy!”

“Fantastic tower and so much history. Lovely decor. The Great Hall was warm and welcoming with the wood burning stove. Comfortable beds. Plenty of steps to give you a good work out. We had a peaceful chilled out stay. Watch the steps with your dogs. Ours soon got used to them but they only went up and down from kitchen to Great Hall. We put a barrier up to prevent them trying to go further. Watch your head. Very low doorways and ceilings. Would recommend for a romantic getaway or something totally different. Loved it. Thank you Ranald.”

“Such an interesting place to stay, but mind the stairs they are a killer. We will be back for sure.”