A HISTORIC 17-bedroom castle in the Scottish Borders has gone on the market for more than £3 million.

Ayton Castle, nestled in the countryside near Berwick-upon-Tweed, is complete with stables, a private chapel, servant’s quarters and even a private railway.

Widely regarded as one of Scotland’s finest baronial-style buildings, the castle is one of only two baronial structures by early 19th-century architect James Gillespie Graham.

Front view of Ayton Castle (Image: ITAGO MEDIA LTD) Entrance hallway (Image: ITAGO MEDIA LTD) (Image: ITAGO MEDIA LTD) The castle was built around a medieval tower house and is set within more than 160 acres of land.

It has three state rooms, which feature 17th-century Scottish-style plasterwork. At the southern end of the castle lies the family wing, with service areas and a courtyard to the north.

One of the three state rooms (Image: ITAGO MEDIA LTD) The main dining room (Image: ITAGO MEDIA) The castle also comes with its very own library (Image: ITAGO MEDIA) Beyond the formal rooms is a private chapel with a kitchenette and dining space.

The main kitchen features a butler’s pantry, located near the dining room and the rear service entrance.

The castle features a turnpike staircase which leads from the gallery to the first floor, with additional stairs to upper levels.

The first floor offers 12 bedrooms and six bathrooms, with four more bedrooms and two bathrooms on the second floor.

One of the bedrooms (Image: ITAGO MEDIA LTD) Another bedroom  (Image: ITAGO MEDIA LTD) On the lower ground and basement levels of the castle there is secondary accommodation, including a former servants’ hall, storerooms and domestic quarters around the service courtyard.

The grounds of the castle also feature a stable block, which the current owners have been using to run a livery business. There is stabling for approximately nine horses, various loose boxes, several stores, a staff room, a tack room, workshop and a double garage.

There is also an all-weather manege (an outdoor horse riding area), which is used to train horses in riding and dressage skills, with a further four loose boxes behind a barn which store hay and straw.

A view of the stables (Image: ITAGO MEDIA) Since 2014, the current owners have undertaken significant improvements to the castle, including partial re-wiring, re-plumbing and the redecoration of several of the principal rooms.

They have also created a formal garden to the southern part of the property and installed a 10 1/4-inch gauge 600m railway which winds through part of the grounds.

The formal gardens (Image: ITAGO MEDIA) The railway comes with its own platform, ticket office, engine and rolling stock shed and a joiner’s shop. It has previously been used as a wedding destination.

The railway (Image: ITAGO MEDIA LTD) (Image: ITAGO MEDIA LTD) The historic property lies two miles from the Berwickshire coast and near the village of Ayton, which has a shop, a primary school and pub.

Berwick-upon-Tweed is just seven miles away from the castle, offering rail links to Edinburgh and London, with the A1 also nearby.

Ayton Castle is on the market through estate agents GSC Grays, with a guide price of offers over £3.25m.

James Denne, property consultant at GSC Grays, said: “This is an iconic Scottish Castle with land, extensive secondary accommodation and limitless potential.

“Ayton Castle is set in 160.56 acres of wonderful Scottish Borders country and is a fabulous example of baronial-style architecture and features a beehive type 16th century dovecot among garden terraces, parkland and attractive woodland, which together make an outstanding scenic contribution to the local landscape.”