It was once fit for a queen, but was left to moulder and it lay empty for years.
Now a Perthshire castle is enjoying a new lease of life after being lovingly restored by a dedicated father and son team.
Although it has been several hundred years since Queen Margaret Tudor lived in Methven Castle, she is at the heart of its fledging business venture.
David Murdoch has taken over the daunting prospect of returning the building to its former glory from his father, Kenneth.
Both architects, the pair have spent decades transforming the castle from an empty shell to a family home, with the elder Mr Murdoch only handing over the reins in 2005, having spearheaded the restoration since 1984.
Now David and his wife Alex Cairncross have opened their doors to guests looking for a hideaway fit for royalty.
The couple have launched a luxury bed and breakfast within their stately home, which was once the dower house of Queen Margaret and a room has even been created in her honour.
“We’ve been blessed because we’ve been provided with the infrastructure and we’ve really taken it to the next level,” said David.
“We wanted to give people the experience of staying in a Scottish castle.They really do get to feel as though they are kings or queens of the castle for the day.”
They also hope to market it as a unique wedding venue and married there themselves on March 2.
Alex, who runs a jewellery business, hopes to start using the sunken garden once the cellar of an 18th century extension that was demolished as an intimate place for couples to say their vows.
David added: “We also want to host corporate events and more concerts, like we already do for the Perthshire Amber Festival. This side of the business will help us fund the continued restoration of the building.”
Although it has been brought into the 21st century with electrics and heating, Methven Castle remains steeped in history.
Each room is adorned with paintings of previous owners and, because nothing was left of the original building interior, David has found a novel way of preserving the past, albeit from other notable properties.
He told The Courier: “The building was in such poor shape when my parents got it that it was gutted from the ground floor to the roof.
“It was an empty shell and the windows had been taken out, so the wind just blew right through the castle.
“We managed to salvage all the facings round the doors, which date back to the Georgian period, but there was nothing else left but a few bits and pieces we couldn’t reuse.”
Through his work as an architect, David was given access to an enviable selection of historic artefacts which would otherwise have been binned.
He continued: “Some of the joists come from Dewars whisky bond, while the flooring in the main hall is maple wood from Huntingtower bleachfield works. The balustrading comes from Bo’ness Old Church and we salvaged the parquet flooring from Craigend Moncrieffe Church.
“We’ve followed quite a sustainable approach to reusing material, because everything is so expensive and if we can use secondhand materials, it is much cheaper and also cuts our carbon footprint.”