A HISTORIC county castle was put up for sale at auction this afternoon, with a final bid of £255,000 being made for the property.

Hailes Castle, near East Linton, has a rich history dating back to the 1200s and has links to the war for Scottish independence and Mary Queen of Scots. It is one of Scotland’s oldest stone castles.

The castle has been managed by Historic Environment Scotland (HES) but is under the ownership of a third party and was set to be put up for online auction on March 21 at a guide price of £284,000.

READ MORE: Hailes Castle: Historic 13th century castle to be sold at auction

However, the auction was delayed until this afternoon.

Only one bid was received for the castle from an unnamed online user at the opening £255,000 bid when the auction expired at 3.20pm this afternoon.

A plot of land adjacent to the castle was also listed with an opening bid of £25,000. A final bid of £30,000 was made by an online bidder when the auction expired.

READ MORE: Hailes Castle access to be maintained after it is sold

Auctioneers Future Property Auctions are yet to confirm the sale.

HES previously confirmed to the Courier that the sale of the castle would not impact public access in the future.

Future Property Auctions has been contacted for comment.