IT used to be a romantic but roofless ruin among the shale bings close

to the Glasgow-Edinburgh railway line, with the message ''Go home

English'' blazoned across it in red paint. Countless commuters no doubt

dreamed of buying Niddry Castle for a song and restoring it to its

former austere glory.

Peter Wright, living with his family in a Barratt semi down the road

in Winchburgh, West Lothian, did more than dream of the medieval tower

house where Mary Queen of Scots once slept. He bought it in 1984 and

spent five years with the help of friends, well-wishers and a

substantial grant from the Historic Buildings Council turning Niddry

Castle into a five-bedroom home with great hall and dungeon.

The first task was digging out rubble and pigeon muck which filled the

ground floor to a depth of seven feet.

Now this historic slice of Scottish architectural history, set in 1.5

acres close to the M8, Edinburgh airport and rail links to both Glasgow

and Edinburgh, is for sale.