Castle Law East Kilbride

Scottish self-catering family-friendly castle accommodation, less than one hour from Glasgow. Sleeping 14 people in 7 bedrooms.

Grade A-listed Castle Law, steeped in rich history, dating back to the fifteenth century, is now a truly exclusive and splendid holiday home. Built around 1440, it was a wedding gift for Princess Mary, the eldest daughter of King James II, on her marriage to Thomas Boyd, the Earl of Arran.

Yet, in the following centuries, the castle fell into a state of disrepair. However, Castle Law has now been beautifully restored to an immaculate standard, and the end result is stunningly authentic. The castle now boasts a wonderful mix of luxury, history, atmosphere and quirkiness, along with the most magnificent views across to Arran from its windows and parapet. Fires burn from original stone fireplaces. Silver goblets sit on a huge oak dining table. Upstairs the place is awash with four-poster beds draped in velvets, embroidered with the Lion Rampant. Candles flicker from candelabras.

The kitchen imaginatively incorporates modern appliances alongside Medieval ovens and a chimney that rises to the parapet. The great hall, as tradition dictates, is the heart of the castle with its log fire, stone walls and high beamed ceilings. There is the most unusually located Aga in the cleverly designed kitchen and a wonderfully decadent dining table.

Castle Law sleeps upto fourteen people in seven rooms. On the ground floor there are two vaulted rooms, one a bedroom with an en-suite bathroom, and the other a utility room. On the first floor there is the great hall and kitchen and, on the levels above, five bedrooms and a sitting room.

The 4-poster bedrooms are spread over the top three floors of the property, with the top floor providing a master suite complete with sitting room and access to the parapet. There is a further bed in the ground floor dungeon, where a stone bath beckons in the en-suite bathroom.

This castle therefore represents an image of living history. Its use of original stone walls and floors are consistent throughout the castle. Moreover, when the gripping Scottish winter begins to arrive, the castle's underfloor heating provides a constant heat to the old stone. Many of the shuttered windows dotted around the castle have seats in small chambers set into the thickness of the wall. The staircase continues to the roof level, where there is an unusual 'caphouse', formerly the guards' look-out. There are views over the quiet village of West Kilbride towards the Firth of Clyde and the Isle of Arran.

The property also hosts an abundance of unique and historic features. After the Boyds' hasty departure, Castle Law was used as a law court - hence its name. The original trapdoor, where guilty parties were dropped into the dungeon below, is still visible in the great hall. There's even a well-placed hole directly above the main entrance to deliver a dose of boiling oil on to the heads of intruders. In fact, the entire layout of the house was designed with the idea of banishing marauders. Even the stone steps of the castle's entrance are deliberately uneven to make it tricky for attackers to keep their balance while running up the stairs.

If they did make it through the entrance hall, door frames were low enough to give armour-clad unwelcome guests a nasty bump. Moreover, what is now the formal great hall of this comfortable but unusual home once served as a courtroom - and comes complete with a pit prison behind a flagstone trap door. There really is nowhere else quite like this!