Granary Lodge, Castle of Mey
You can’t get much posher than the future king’s B&B. The Prince of Wales, or the Duke of Rothesay as he’s known in these parts, has just opened the Granary Lodge, a luxury guesthouse in the grounds of the Castle of Mey on the Caithness coast.
As castles go it’s pure Disney, with tiny turrets, a walled rose garden and spectacular sea views over the Pentland Firth to Orkney. This was the summer retreat of his grandmother, the late Queen Mother. Inside, it’s homey rather than grand — like any holiday home — with ramparts thrown in. Prince Charles holidays here every year and now you can too — in the annexe.
That’s where I’m heading, down a lane from the castle to the three-storey 17th-century granary and single-storey extension that has been converted into a luxurious bolt hole with ten rooms. It was decorated not by an interior designer, but by Prince Charles’s former valet (now the chief executive of the Prince’s Foundation), Michael Fawcett.
Sipping a glass of champagne (yes, it has a licence) I mooch along a corridor lined with black and white holiday snaps of the Queen Mother, picnicking in all weathers, poke my head into the dining room, with its six grandfather clocks and a wall clad with 80 Scottish clan cartoons, before curling up in front of a roaring fire in the drawingroom.
I am in room nine, a suite on the first floor with a glamorous chaise longue, a freestanding tub with a perfect view and heavenly Glencraft bed with a matching headboard and bedspread.
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The other rooms, all in Farrow & Ball colours, are just as lovely with antique furniture, retro radiators and bathrooms with wallpaper. Room eight on the ground floor is one of the prettiest, with its floral fabric corona above the bed, mirroring one of the bedrooms in the castle. The grey-blue walls are hung with botanical prints and there is an ornate armoire, cream sofa and window seat that looks seawards.
For breakfast (the menu lists local suppliers on the back) I am almost swayed by the vegan breakfast bowl (sliced avocado, grilled mushroom and tomatoes, tofu scramble and popped quinoa), but settle on scrambled eggs and smoked salmon. From the summer you will also be able to book an evening meal inspired by local ingredients — or, if your pockets are deep enough, a private dinner in the castle.
The old granary has definitely come up in the world. It’s the kind of place your granny would love, especially if your grandmother happened to be the late Queen Mum.
Lucy Gillmore
Details The writer was a guest of the Granary Lodge, which has B&B doubles from £145 (castleofmey.org.uk)
Yarlington House
Home of the Count and Countess Charles de Salis, Yarlington House in Somerset is a stunning Georgian manor with manicured gardens surrounded by impressive parkland. Guests can wander down to the sunken garden, with its wisteria, statues, a square of pleached limes around rose beds and a lily pond. The rooms are quirky — all individually styled with antiques, garden views and classical 1950s bathrooms. There is a heated pool and a handful of pubs within walking distance.
Ben Clatworthy
Details B&B doubles cost from £150 a night (sawdays.co.uk)
Devonshire Arms at Pilsley
You can dine, drink and sleep at this gorgeous pub on the Chatsworth Estate in Derbyshire. Owned by the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, it’s made up of the inn and three external properties a stone’s throw from the door. Plump for one of the “luxury suites” in the pub, which have chunky four-poster beds and subtle tartan carpets. There’s lots to explore on the estate, from Chatsworth House and its award-winning farm shop to more than 1,500 acres of parkland. BC
Details B&B doubles cost from about £130 a night (01246 565405, devonshirepilsley.co.uk)
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Dumfries House Lodge
Perched at the end of the 2,000-acre Dumfries House Estate, this was Prince Charles’s first B&B. The 18th-century property, once the home of the estate’s factor, is now a 22-bedroom luxury guesthouse. Tucked away in rural East Ayrshire, it acts as the gatekeeper to the estate, which was once the playground of the Marquesses of Bute. The rooms are modelled on a country cottage, with antique furnishings. BC
Details B&B doubles cost from £150 a night (01290 425959, dumfries-house.org.uk)
The Peacock at Rowsley
Built in 1652, this plush Peak District manor house is owned by Lord and Lady Edward Manners who live at nearby Haddon Hall. More a hotel than a B&B, its public rooms are filled with ancestral portraits, paintings and antiques, and the bedrooms are smart, some with four-posters and original artwork on the walls. It’s all very cosy, with mullioned windows and a beamed bar where posh pub grub includes fish and chips and lamb shoulder burgers. The restaurant serves organic, locally sourced dishes such as beef fillet. BC
Details B&B doubles cost from £205 (01629 733518, thepeacockatrowsley.com)