Augill Castle Estates

About

Augill Castle – A Place to Be Your Best Self

 

Augill Castle is a 19th-century castle nestled between the Yorkshire Dales and Cumbria’s Lake District. Traveller-rated five stars, it offers two of life’s rarest luxuries – time and space, in an atmosphere of comfort, friendliness, and informality.

 

At Augill, you can simply be yourself.

 

This isn’t your typical hotel experience. As one guest perfectly put it, Augill is “perfectly imperfect.” For the past 24 years, it’s been our family home, and we’ve worked to share a slice of that life with every guest who walks through the door. We’re not trying to create order from chaos, but rather to welcome like-minded people into a place that celebrates life in all its messy brilliance.

 

The castle has its own rhythm - one that changes with the seasons. In the school holidays, it’s alive with the sound of families. Midweek in winter, it’s quieter, almost contemplative - the kind of place where you can write, walk, rest, or reset.

 

When we bought the castle in 1997, it had just three bedrooms. Guests stayed with us in our home, shared our table, our space, and, often, our life’s highs and lows - as we did theirs. We were driven by a desire to breathe new life into this neglected building, and our early guests understood that passion.

 

The castle was far from perfect, and so were we. That’s what made it interesting. Over the years we’ve grown, with more bedrooms and a rolling programme of redecoration. But we’ve worked hard to retain the essence of a shared country house experience.

 

Augill is about the simple joys of country life - and those joys must stay simple to remain real. We’re not interested in polished, impersonal service or over-designed luxury. We care about genuine hospitality - the kind that creates real connections.

 

Our staff’s warmth matters far more than uniform perfection. What makes Augill special isn’t a fancy suite or a perfect breakfast tray – it’s the feeling of belonging. It’s the friendships you form, the stories shared over drinks in the conservatory, and the memories made around the live-edge bar Oliver built.

 

We’ve made deliberate choices to preserve the castle’s character. With 148 windows and an acre of roof, it’s not always picture-perfect. But the cracks in the paintwork, the mismatched furniture, the slightly wonky charm - it’s all part of the story.

 

We’ve stripped away the unnecessary formality of a traditional hotel. There’s no reception desk to stand between you and a warm welcome. You’re always close to the kitchen - and if you need something, we’ll help if we can. If not, we’ll suggest an alternative.

 

If, however, you prefer somewhere where everything runs to a tight schedule, where the staff are trained to follow scripts, where silence is favoured over socialising, and quantity outweighs quality - Augill probably isn’t for you.

 

But for those who get it – those who want a place that feels lived-in, warm, and real – Augill quickly becomes more than a holiday. It becomes part of your story.

 

And for those who return again and again, there’s always a book, a drink, and a welcome waiting by the fire.