Welcome to Peel Castle...

A small boy's yearning to live in a castle has turned to reality for architect, Francis Shaw, and his wife, Karen, who spent three years transforming the derelict Peel Castle into a beautiful family home. They live in the castle with their two children.

Francis said:

“I first saw Hellifield Peel when I was in my teens on holiday going north to Scotland. This was my family’s ‘British Isles Tour’ before we emigrated to the U.A.E.
I saw many tower houses and ruins on this holiday until my parents revolted, refusing to see 'any more knackered old buildings'.
I think this was a forming point in my life,although I didn’t appreciate it at the time. I had already decided I wanted to be an architect and I believed that my job would be to restore buildings like these.”

Can You Rebuild a Castle?

Francis Shaw rediscovered Hellifield Peel, on English Heritage’s ‘buildings at risk’ register. He was looking for a new home for his family and the Peel seemed perfect - well it would be when it was “sorted out”.
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Peel Castle, built in the 1300s to ward off the marauding Scots, was a crumbling wreck in 2005, but now it is a very impressive luxurious bed and breakfast in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales. It is located near to Skipton in the village of Hellifield on the A65, one of the main routes to the Lake District.

Winner of the nation's favourite 'Grand Designs' house 2007, Peel Castle offers a luxurious castle experience. When you are staying at the castle you can watch the Grand Designs programme on DVD – if you haven’t seen it already, you will love the story. If you have seen it, you will love watching it again to remind yourself of the enormity of the challenge that Francis and Karen went through to bring this property back to life.

Peel Castle has a spacious attic self-catering apartment with what must be the best views in the Yorkshire Dales. There are also 3 beautifully restored large double bedrooms in the castle, all with 4 poster beds.