An "outstanding" 10-bedroom castle that comes with royal history is available to purchase.
Myres Castle, which is located around 36 miles from Edinburgh near Auchtermuchty, is on the market for offers over £3,500,000. The castle dates back to the 16th century when John Scrymgeour, who oversaw the refurbishment of both Holyrood Palace and Falkland Palace for James V, built the original House of Myres in about 1530.
The property was then passed to the Moncrieff family, who owned it for almost 200 years before selling it to the King's Printer in 1820. After this, the castle became the dower house for the nearby Falkland Palace in the 1870s, before being sold to James Fairlie in 1887.
At this point, Fairlie, who had been chamberlain to three popes in Rome, laid out the now-celebrated walled garden in the style of one of the Vatican gardens.
His descendent David supervised a full restoration of the property in 1960, before further renovations were carried out in 1999 such as the addition of en suite bathrooms to all 10 bedrooms.
To this day, the property's Vatican Garden remains one of its most prominent and beloved features. It includes "beautifully scented roses, delightful herbaceous borders, a spectacular peony bed and a meticulously tended maze", as well as huge hedge and beech trees that were planted in 1745.
The oldest tree on the property is the Spanish chestnut on the front lawn. It is said that the tree was planted by Mary, Queen of Scots herself on one of her many visits to Myres Castle.
Looking inside the property, the ground floor consists of a grand entrance hall, a drawing room, a WC, and a turret bar. Meanwhile, the principal floor is home to a library, study, dining room, pantry, billiards room, family snug, and three of the en-suite bedrooms.
The garden level contains the "modern" family kitchen, a Victorian kitchen, a commercial kitchen, an office, a freezer room, an integral garage, a laundry, a dungeon, and a wine cellar. The remainder of the seven bedrooms are all located on the castle's upper floors.
Also included with the property is an additional courtyard cottage that contains three bedrooms, a sitting room, a bathroom, a kitchen, and a sitting room.
Moving outside, there is a range of stores and garden sheds, as well as a wooden cabin, a biomass boiler room, and a covered heated training pool. Finally, the grounds include a "fully insulated bespoke shepherds hut", with a double bed, kitchen, sitting room with wood burner, shower, and WC.
Jamie Macnab from Savills commented: "Without a doubt, this is one of the very finest properties I have had the pleasure of marketing. With its impeccable historic pedigree, glorious gardens and sensitive modernisation, Myres Castle is first and foremost a wonderful family home but there is also an attractive commercial aspect, if desired, with the cottage and gate lodge and exclusive use venue/events business all offering various income streams.
"The prospect of heating a castle need not strike fear in the heart of a buyer with the biomass system already installed and significant financial incentives taking care of the heating costs. In short, Myres Castle is a rare jewel and is likely to create something of a stir when we launch onto the market."
More information can be found on the Savills website.
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