Dumfries and Galloway
The Velvet Upperground
Introduction
The Velvet Upperground is the top floor of Dunskey Castle, the Edwardian pile completed in 1904 for Charles Lindsay Orr Ewing MP, whose family fortune came from Turkey red dye and whose descendants still run the estate. You enter through your own door in the East Wing and take a private lift up, arriving in a corridor lit by one of the castle's original lightwells, where a cast-iron bathtub from the house's early days now holds plants.
The open-plan living space has two floor-to-ceiling bay windows with built-in seats, looking over the fields to Portpatrick and the sea beyond. The master suite is named for Sojourner Truth, with a cream canopy bed, the original fireplace in hand-glazed amber tiles, and a bathtub built into the room itself for soaking with a view. The second bedroom, named for Rosa Parks, has a yellow velvet bed and an en-suite behind a French-shutter window. Underfloor heating runs throughout.
Prices & Availability
Facilities & Services
The kitchen comes fully equipped with an induction hob, butcher-block worktop and breakfast bar, plus a starter pack of dish soap, sponges, kitchen roll and laundry detergent. There's a smart TV and WiFi, underfloor heating, and generous storage in both bedrooms. Every booking includes a welcome hamper of bread, eggs, coffee, tea, milk, butter, artisan cheese, jam and baked goods, along with laundry, linen and Dunskey's own toiletries. Guests get complimentary use of the boat on the estate loch, and ready-made meals prepared by the estate's chefs can be ordered in for the freezer.
Location
The apartment occupies the top floor of Dunskey Castle, at the heart of the 2,000-acre estate on the Rhins of Galloway. Portpatrick, its harbour and golf course are a couple of minutes' drive, the estate's walled garden and maze a short walk, and the glen path leads past a waterfall to two private bays. Stranraer, eight miles east, has the supermarkets and railway station, the Cairnryan ferries to Northern Ireland run 20 minutes away, and Glasgow is around two hours by car.
Good to know
The Velvet Upperground sleeps a maximum of four across two king bedrooms, with an additional half bathroom alongside the en-suites. It's a top-floor apartment reached by private lift, so stairs aren't the obstacle they'd otherwise be. Minimum stays run to three nights year round, rising to seven over Christmas and New Year. Up to two pets are welcome with a £60 deep-clean fee per stay. The castle also hosts weddings and private events, so ask Dunskey what's on during your dates if seclusion matters. A car is the sensible way to arrive.
What's nearby
Portpatrick is the first stop, a pastel-fronted harbour village with pubs, a brewery, a putting green and the start of the 212-mile Southern Upland Way. The clifftop ruin of the original Dunskey Castle, a 1500s tower house, stands south of the village, viewable from the coast path, and Killantringan Lighthouse, built in 1900 by David A Stevenson, anchors the walk north. Logan Botanic Garden grows subtropical exotics 20 minutes down the Rhins, and the Mull of Galloway, Scotland's southernmost point, is about an hour away.
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