We take a look at Augill Castle in this article first published in the December 2009 edition of theCastle.

Augill Castle is located in Cumbria’s Eden Valley, in the far North of England. A Victorian folly, the castle was built in the 1840s as a weekend holiday home for “a gentleman of leisure and considerable means”. When purchased by current owners Simon & Wendy Bennett in 1997, the property was in a substantial state of disrepeair. They recount it took “137 burst pipes, several thousand pounds of dry rot treatment plus hundreds of metres of new wiring and plumbing” just to prepare the first 3 bedrooms for opening in June 1998!

Simon and Wendy are keen to describe the property as a “family home that accepts guests”, very much distancing themselves from the feel of a formal hotel. They’re only too happy to welcome other families to enjoy their castle, the children of guests often playing alongside the couple’s own son and daughter whilst the parents relax. And indeed relaxation is the order of the day, with Simon and Wendy’s goal being to create a laid back atmosphere free from “hushed tones and false formality”.

Every bedroom is of an equal standard, but each is designed differently. Many of the room designs encompass unique features such as turrets for wardrobes, stained glass windows, a piano in the bathroom, a church pew next to the toilet, an African tribal hanging or Indonesian blowpipe above your bed. This quirkiness is never in place of quality, however, with king size beds, fine bed linen and good showers throughout, plus modern conveniences like flat screen TVs and WiFi internet. A number of rooms are designed with families in mind. Particularly popular is the “Little Castle”, a small private building converted from the old gatehouse, complete with 2 bedrooms and its own turret!

A four course dinner is served at the castle most weekends, with an informal 2 course supper available most weekdays. Dinner is designed to be a social affair with guests sitting together round one table. Simon ran a restaurant in Mayfair, as well as managing a number of restaurants in prestigious hotels, and works by the principle that “good food is the best ingredients simply prepared”. Much of the food is sourced from the castle’s own gardens, and the rest is bought as locally as possible. The food preparation skills on show in the menu can be passed down to the next generation with the “Little Cooks” courses. Run during the school holidays, these courses give children a chance to learn cookery skills for themselves whilst parents enjoy a little time alone around the castle grounds.

The castle makes a great venue for groups of family and friends to hire exclusively. House parties are fully catered and extra activities such as casino nights or murder mystery evenings can be arranged when requested.

If any of the above sounds a little too good to be true, you don’t need to take our word for it, with a stack of awards now defining Augill as somewhere very special. Some of their accolades include: English Bed & Breakfast of the Year, British Boutique Hotel of the Year, The Best of Lake District Hotels and Top Cumbrian Bed & Breakfast. Despite these successes, Augill is keen not to be compared too closely to its competitors, to quote its website “be assured that Augill Castle is unlike anywhere you have ever stayed before.”

www.celticcastles.com/castles/augillcastle