A castle which was once home to Mary Queen of Scots was yesterday rated among the top 10 historic hotels in Europe by a leading travel firm.

The 15th-century Borthwick Castle, near Edinburgh, took fifth place in the league table of exclusive European castle hotels, which was compiled by TripAdvisor.

Castle Stuart in Inverness, which Mary gave to her half brother James, came second in the list which included five hotels in Britain and Ireland, topped by Glin Castle beside the River Shannon.

Thornbury Castle, near Bristol, in Gloucestershire, where Henry VIII and his second queen Anne Boleyn once stayed, was awarded third place, while the 13th-century Ashford Castle at Cong in Ireland came eighth.

Mary Queen of Scots and her third husband, the Earl of Bothwell, sought sanctuary at Borthwick in 1567 after hearing that Scottish noblemen planned to capture them.

A force of 1000 men surrounded the castle but Mary escaped by dressing as a pageboy and climbing through a window during the night to ride after her husband.

Two French castles also made it into the top 10, with the Domaine de la Tortiniere in Tours coming fourth and the Chateau de Bagnols in Lyon placed sixth.

The Castelletto di Montebenichi in Bucine, Italy, was seventh, the Parador de Jaen in Jaen, Spain, was ninth and the 10th spot went to the Hotel Castle Liebenstein in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany.