The main hall leads into a gallery that links a series of spacious reception rooms.
Andy Semple/Itago Media; Knight Frank
Ever wanted to be a baron or a baroness? Now’s your chance. Along with a castle on 160 acres—and your own miniature railway—the historic, Grade II-listed Ayton Castle is now on the market for £3.25 million (or roughly $4.4 million) with Knight Frank, and with it comes with the rare opportunity to acquire the Barony of Ayton, a historic title dating back to 1324.
Set in the rolling landscapes of the Scottish Borders, Ayton Castle was built in 1845 by James Gillespie Graham, Scotland’s leading Gothic revival architect, for William Mitchell-Innes, then the chief cashier and later director of the Royal Bank of Scotland. Graham’s dramatic red sandstone design, a standout landmark in the region, is downright baronial, of course, with two main stories anchored by a five-story Great Tower, rope-moulded turrets, crenelated parapets, and crow-step gables.
The main hall leads into a gallery that links a series of spacious reception rooms.
Andy Semple/Itago Media; Knight Frank
The castle’s evolution didn’t end with Graham. In the 1860s, architects David Bryce and James Maitland Wardrop made several alterations, expanding the drawing room and adding a billiard room, and in 1873 the interiors were lavishly redecorated by Scotland’s leading designers, Bonnar & Carfrae, who painted some of the walls to look like silk damask. One original feature is no longer on site: the dining room mantel, which captured the heart of Mark Twain during a visit and so enchanted him that he insisted on taking it back to Connecticut. It now takes pride of place at the Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford, Connecticut.
Over the last decade, the current owners have modernized the property, rewiring, replumbing, redecorating key rooms, and adding a formal southern garden, while keeping its historic soul intact. A whimsical and unexpected highlight of the estate is the fully functional 10¼-inch gauge miniature railway, complete with platform, ticket office, engine shed, and joiner’s workshop, which winds through the grounds.
A fully functional railway winds through the grounds, complete with a ticket office and station platform.
Andy Semple/Itago Media; Knight Frank
Ayton Castle parklands, gardens, and woodlands follow a 19th-century “tree-gardening” philosophy, blending naturalistic woodlands with formal terraces, sandstone walls, box hedges, a grand fountain, a 16th-century dovecote, a couple of pinetums, and even a subterranean icehouse. Norman settlers were the first recorded owners when the De Vesci family is believed to have built a small castle here, though little is known of the estate’s history until the 18th century.
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The main kitchen is located near the castle’s light-filled dining room.
Andy Semple/Itago Media; Knight Frank
The castle is sprawling yet practical. The main hall opens onto a gallery connecting a series of reception rooms, a huge dining room, and a large kitchen with a butler’s pantry. There’s a private chapel complete with a kitchenette. Twelve south-facing bedrooms and six bathrooms occupy the second floor, with additional bedrooms on the third and former staff quarters and storerooms on the lower level.
The estate also includes several cottages, gate lodges, and stable apartments that generate income, along with a Category B-listed stable block housing nine horses, tack rooms, and a double garage. Beyond the castle itself, the estate has historically contributed to the local landscape, including the nearby parish church commissioned by William Mitchell-Innes’s son, Alexander, featuring a 36-meter spire and stained glass by Ballantine & Sons.
Click here to see more photos of this castle in Scotland.
Abigail Montanez is a staff writer at Robb Report. She has worked in both print and digital publishing for over half a decade, covering everything from real estate, entertainment, dining, travel to…