There are over 4,000 castles dotted across the UK, eight of these in the Royal Family's property portfolio, each with their own unique histories, and sometimes brutal stories from the past.

Plenty of the castles still standing today have been transformed into historical museums while others were left to fall into disrepair.

However, several castles have been turned into hotels, B&Bs and even glamping sites, meaning that you can experience what it would be like to sleep and wake up in your very own palace.

Here are just some of the castles you can stay in the UK...

Mingary Castle

Mingary Castle, or Caisteal Mhìogharraidh in Scottish Gaelic, is located in Lochaber, Scotland. The castle dates back to either the 13th or 14th century and was owned by many different clans throughout the years. At one point it was used by King James IV of Scotland to defend against Clan Donald and has been besieged on numerous other occasions throughout its history

Mingary is believed to have been abandoned sometime in the mid-19th century. Restoration work was conducted on the castle in the 2010s, including stabilising the walls to prevent the castle from falling into the sea. Following this it has been converted into a luxury hotel and restaurant, opening the doors to its first guests in 2016.

Prices start at £300. You can book a stay at Mingary Castle.

Bickleigh Castle

Listed in the Domesday book, Bickleigh Castle in Devon, dates back to at least the Norman invasion, although the Norman castle was dismantled in the 12th century. However, a fortified manor house was built on the site, incorporating some of the ruins of the old castle, in the 1400s by the owner, Lord Thomas Courteney.

After his death, the house was transferred to the Carew family, with all of Thomas's sons dying in the Wars of the Roses. The castle would then become a site of civil war once again, when Queen Henrietta Maria, the wife of Charles I, stayed at the castle in 1644 as a guest of Sir Henry Carew. The Royalist sympathies of the Carew family later led to their home being attacked and partially destroyed.

After passing through a number of different owners who lovingly restored the damage from the Civil War, Bickleigh was transformed into a wedding venue and bed & breakfast in 2002.

Prices start at £140 and can be booked on the Bickleigh Castle website.

Warwick Castle

Warwick Castle started life as an Anglo-Saxon fort in 914, founded by Æthelflæd, the daughter of Alfred the Great. Following the Norman invasion, William the Conqueror built a wooden castle on the site in 1068, this was later rebuilt with stone in the 12th century.

The Castle has been a key location in numerous wars, with Henry of Anjou (later Henry II) taking the castle during The Anarchy, while King Edward IV was imprisoned by his former ally the Earl of Warwick in the castle during the Wars of the Roses. Prisoners were also held at the castle during the English Civil War.

In modern times the castle has become a popular tourist attraction and even opened up a glamping site in 2016. Alongside medieval-themed glamping, those wanting to stay the night can also choose to stay in luxury Tower Suites located in the castle's 14th-century tower. This summer, Warwick Castle is also set to open a new hotel, also located within the castle's walls.

Glamping tents, tower suites, and hotel rooms can all be booked on the Warwick Castle website.

The Castle at Edgehill

The Castle at Edgehill in West Oxfordshire is famed for being the site of the first major battle of the English Civil War in 1642. The castle was then built at the site a hundred years later, with architect Sanderson Miller claiming that the main tower was constructed on the same site where King Charles I raised the standard before the battle began.

The small castle was then converted into an inn in 1822 with rooms located in the property's two towers. In recent years it has become a bed & breakfast, with five rooms, all named after individuals who fought in the Battle of Edge Hill.

Rooms start from £140 and can be booked through the Castle at Edgehill website.

Langley Castle

Northumberland's Langley Castle was built in 1350, during the reign of Edward II, and has had numerous owners over the subsequent centuries. In 1405, the Castle was damaged by Henry IV's forces, when the Percy family, who resided in Langley at the time, rebelled against him.

Fast forward to 1715 and the castle was once again a hotbed of rebellion, when James Radclyffe the Earl of Derwentwater and Viscount Langley took part in the Jacobite uprising. After the uprising failed, James and his brother were executed and the Castle was confiscated by the crown.

In 1882 a local historian, Cadwallader Bates, purchased the property and worked to restore it to its former glory. After he and his wife died, the castle was used as barracks in the Second World War. In 1988 the castle ownership changed hands once again, and it was subsequently converted into a hotel.

Prices start at £150 with rooms both inside the castle and on the estate and can be booked on the Langley Castle website.

Amberley Castle

Numerous Royals have visited Amberley Castle in West Sussex throughout its 900-year history, including Henry VIII in 1526, and Queen Elizabeth II in her teenage years. The breathtaking castle started life as a timber-framed hunting lodge when it was built in 1103, before being transformed into a fortified manor house in 1377, amid fears of a French invasion during the Hundred Years War.

Unlike plenty of other castles on this list, Amberley's history remained relatively peaceful until the English Civil War when it became a Royalist stronghold and was subsequently attacked by Oliver Cromwell's forces.

In the following centuries, the castle was owned by several different wealthy families, before being converted into a a hotel in 1989. In recent years the castle has also served as a wedding venue, with former This Morning presenter Holly Willoughby and her husband Daniel Baldwin tying the knot there in 2007.

Rooms start from £285 and can be booked on the Amberley Castle website.

Sneaton Castle

A relatively young castle, Sneaton Castle in Whitby was built in the 1800s by former sugar plantation and slave owner and then MP for York, James Wilson. James bought what was known as Sneaton Manor in 1820 and then transformed it into Sneaton Castle.

Following James' death, the castle was used as a school for several years, before being purchased by John Morley in 2020, who has now transformed the castle into a hotel, wedding venue and conference centre.

Prices start at £220 with rooms available to book on the Sneaton Castle website.

Cawood Castle

Cawood Castle is believed to predate the Norman invasion of Britain, with the Saxon King Athelstan believed to have built the first fortifications on the site. However, Cawood's designation as a castle was first recorded in 1181.

The castle itself became a favourite among numerous Royal dynasties, with visitors including King John, Henry III, Edward I and II, and Henry VIII. Cawood has also gone down in history as the location at which the notorious Archbishop of York, Thomas Wolsey was arrested in 1530.

Following the English Civil War, much of the castle was destroyed after being captured by Parliamentarian forces. The only remaining parts of the original castle still standing today are the gatehouse and the banqueting hall, which have since been lovingly restored and transformed into a holiday home by the Landmark Trust.

Prices start at £528 and are dependent on length of stay and time of year. All accommodation is self-catered and can be booked on the Landmark Trust's website.

Roch Castle

Pembrokeshire's Roch Castle was built in the twelfth century and served as a border stronghold between Anglicised Wales and the independent Wales of the North. The first inhabitant of the castle was Adam de Rupe with his descendants continuing to inherit the property until the 15th century.

In the 17th century, it was home to the Walter family. During the English Civil War, the Walters declared for King Charles I and later were forced to flee from their home when it was taken over by Parliamentary forces. These forces set fire to the castle in 1644 and it remained abandoned for several years.

The Walter's daughter Lucy, later became the mistress of King Charles II, with whom had a son James, 1st Duke of Monmouth. As an adult, James resided in his ancestral home of Roch Castle, until his arrest and execution following a rebellion in 1685.

Following the Duke's execution, the castle remained abandoned until 1900, when it was purchased by John Philipps, 1st Viscount St Davids, who began restoration work on the property. In 2008 Roch Castle was purchased by Keith Griffiths, who transformed it into an award-winning hotel.

Rooms start at £190 and are available to book on the Roch Castle website.

Hever Castle

Kent's Hever Castle, which was the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, was built in the 13th century before coming into the hands of the Boleyn family in 1462. Thomas Boleyn, Anne's father, inherited the castle in 1505, and it remained his residence until he died in 1539, three years after the executions of his daughter Anne and son George.

As his heir, George, had predeceased him, on Thomas's death the castle fell into the hands of Henry VIII, who then granted it to Anne of Cleeves as part of their annulment settlement.

Hever was then owned by several aristocratic families before being purchased by American millionaire William Waldorf Astor in 1903, who then sold the property to Broadland Properties Limited in 1983, and in 2012 some of the castle's buildings opened as B&B.

Rooms at Hever Castle and Gardens start at £120 and can be booked via the website.

Chateau Rhianfa

Chateau Rhianfa, in Anglesey, certainly looks more like a castle you would find in France, possibly within the grounds of Versailles, than it does a classic Welsh castle.

Chateau Rhianfa was built by Sir John Hay-Williams between 1849 and 1851 for his wife and daughters. He based much of the building's exteriors on his wife Sarah's sketches of the Loire Valley in France. He had decided to build the stunning property so that his family would have somewhere to live upon his death.

Rhianfa remained in the hands of the Williams family until 1957 when it was sold and converted into apartments. In 2011 the chateau was purchased by Mike and Carol Clare who renovated the property before opening it as a hotel in 2015.