Aldie, Virginia: Bull Run Castle (Closed)

John Miller's Bull Run Castle is open for business. I got the full tour, including the B&B rooms, and bought a couple of things from the antique store. The place is still for sale. It certainly is well-built...while walking the grounds, I came across the proverbial brick outhouse. The big news is that he has a new sweetie, and get this...she hasn't seen the house yet! Wouldn't you like to be a fly on the wall for that?

The Aldie Castle is now up for sale. Inquiries to the real estate agent as to the asking price have gone unanswered, but the Multilisting Service has it in the "$1 million +" category.

West of Manassas, Virginia , on Rt. 15, just east of intersection with I-66, Mr. Miller is building a castle since 1986, from material scrounged from dumps. His kids don't help anymore, wife left him.

He's done his homework on castles. He is building it so he can defend himself from attack. He doesn't know from who yet, but he's ready. He only has old guns (all the same caliber -- important in defense) but his friends have automatic weapons. At first it appears like he's a lovable militia person, but once you take the tour you realize he's an "impossible dreamer". For $2 dollars you get a tour -- he'll give you back $10 if you don't like it. Or maybe put you in the dungeon. Everything is in the process of being built seemingly at once. He's doing it himself.

The castle is also a Bed-N-Breakfast. Two rooms are finished (kind of). There's the Victorian room and the Tower of Amore (painted in "love colors"). You can stay in Bull Run Castle for 60 dollars a night. And that's with anything you want for breakfast. He has hosted a medieval wedding and a group of 25 vampires has repeatedly stayed in the castle. This is probably the best off-center attraction in D.C. area.