Duncraig Castle is a mansion in

Lochalsh Lochalsh is a district of mainland Scotland that is currently part of the Highland (council area), Highland council area. The Lochalsh district covers all of the mainland either side of Loch Alsh - and of Loch Duich - between Loch Carron and Lo ...

, in the west of the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands (; , ) is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Scottish Lowlands, Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Scots language, Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gae ...

. A category-C listed building, it is situated in the

Highland council area Highland (, ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area in the Scottish Highlands and is the largest local government area in both Scotland and the United Kingdom. It was the 7th most populous council area in Scotland at the United Kingdo ...

, east of the village of

Plockton Plockton () is a village in the Lochalsh, Wester Ross area of the Scottish Highlands with a 2020 population of 468. Plockton settlement is on the shores of Loch Carron. It faces east, away from the prevailing winds; this, together with the North ...

on the south shore of

Loch Carron Loch Carron (Scottish Gaelic: "Loch Carrann") is a sea loch on the west coast of Ross and Cromarty in the Scottish Highlands, which separates the Lochalsh peninsula from the Applecross peninsula, and from the Stromeferry headland east of Loch ...

. It was built in 1866 in the

Scottish baronial Scottish baronial or Scots baronial is an architectural style of 19th-century Gothic Revival which revived the forms and ornaments of historical architecture of Scotland in the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period. Reminiscent of Scot ...

style, to designs by Alexander Ross, for Scottish Member of Parliament and businessman Alexander Matheson. The castle remained in the Matheson family until the 1920s, when it was sold to Sir Daniel Hamilton and his wife Margaret, who owned the neighbouring estate. The Hamiltons intended to use the castle for educational purposes in the local community, but this never came to fruition and following the outbreak of World War II, the castle was used as a naval hospital. By the end of the war, Daniel Hamilton had died, and Margaret bequeathed the castle to the local council, which converted it for use as a

home economics Home economics, also called domestic science or family and consumer sciences (often shortened to FCS or FACS), is a subject concerning human development, personal and family finances, consumer issues, housing and interior design, nutrition and f ...

college for girls, operating in this capacity until its closure in 1989. After standing derelict for more than a decade, the castle was bought by the Dobson family of England in 2002, seventeen of whom moved in. Faced with huge renovation costs, the family had several disputes, and sold their story to a television company, who produced a five-part series which aired on

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...

. In 2009, after most of the family had moved away, the Dobsons sold the castle. It was bought with the intention of converting it to a

bed and breakfast A bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. In addition, a B&B sometimes has the hosts living in the house. ''Bed and breakfast'' is also used to ...

, which operated for two years but then closed, as the castle remained in need of major renovation. The castle operated as a Bed and Breakfast and wedding venue in 2021 and 2022. It was sold into private ownership in late 2022 and the bed and breakfast is permanently closed. The castle is served by Duncraig railway station, on the Kyle of Lochalsh line. This was originally opened in 1897 as a private station, and is now open to the public.

Description

Duncraig Castle is located on

, part of the west coast of Scotland, in the

Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Africa * Highlands, Johannesburg, South Africa * Highlands, Harare, Zimbab ...

. It is on the northern shore of the Lochalsh peninsula, northeast of the town of

Kyle of Lochalsh Kyle of Lochalsh ( , "strait of the foaming loch") is a village in the historic county of Ross & Cromarty on the northwest coast of Scotland, located around west-southwest of Inverness. It is located on the Lochalsh peninsula, at the entranc ...

and east of the

Isle of Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye, is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some of ...

. It is close to the village of

. The three-storey building was constructed in the

style, and has an asymmetrical nine-bay layout with

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

s and

crenellation A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals t ...

s. The building has eighty rooms including a large dining room, and features a chapel as well as an octagonal water tower and a large modern extension. It has been designated as a category-C listed building since 1982. The castle's estate consists of of land, much of it forest, as well as a boathouse and two private islands. The castle is operated as a

as well as being the home of the owner and her family, although as of 2020 the B&B is yet to reopen following extensive renovation work. The castle is served by Duncraig railway station, which is unstaffed and operated by

ScotRail ScotRail Trains Limited, trading as ScotRail (), is a Scottish train operating company that is publicly owned by Scottish Rail Holdings on behalf of the Scottish Government. It has been operating the ScotRail franchise as an operator of las ...

. It is on the Kyle of Lochalsh line, which runs from

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

, lying between Stromeferry and

on that line. The station features a single concrete platform and an unusual hexagonal shelter with pyramid-shaped roof. The station received a category-B listing in 1997.

History

Duncraig Castle was built in 1866 by Sir Alexander Matheson, who had returned to Britain after making a large sum of money through the Chinese opium trade, as a country home suitable for hosting large gatherings. The building is located close to the Mathesons'

family seat A family seat, sometimes just called seat, is the principal residence of the landed gentry and aristocracy. The residence usually denotes the social, economic, political, or historic connection of the family within a given area. Some families t ...

at Attadale, and was designed by the architect Alexander Ross. Matheson died in 1886 and the castle initially remained with his family, who rented it to wealthy tenants continuing its use as a hosting venue for summer entertainment. In 1897, the

Highland Railway The Highland Railway (HR) was one of the two smallest of the five major Scottish railway companies prior to the 1923 Grouping, operating north of Perth railway station, Scotland, Perth railway station in Scotland and serving the farthest north o ...

built the Kyle of Lochalsh Extension to their existing line to Stromeferry, which included a dedicated station for Duncraig Castle. At the time of opening, it was a private-use only station for the Matheson family, but it later opened for public use. By the 1920s the Matheson family were in financial difficulty and they sold the castle to Sir Daniel Hamilton and his wife Lady Margaret Hamilton, owners of the neighbouring Balmacara Estate. The Hamiltons, supporters of

social reform Reformism is a type of social movement that aims to bring a social or also a political system closer to the community's ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more radical social movements such as revolutionary movements which reject t ...

, planned to use the castle as a community education centre for local people to receive training in activities such as

weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal ...

. In 1938 the local authority began discussions with the Hamiltons about using the castle for education purposes, but these did not come to fruition before the outbreak of World War II in 1939. Sir Daniel Hamilton died during the early stages of the war, and the castle was used during the hostilities by the government, as a naval hospital. At the end of the war, Lady Margaret Hamilton, whose principal residence was at Balmacara House, bequeathed the castle to

Ross-shire Ross-shire (; ), or the County of Ross, was a county in the Scottish Highlands. It bordered Sutherland to the north and Inverness-shire to the south, as well as having a complex border with Cromartyshire, a county consisting of numerous enc ...

council, for use as a technical school for the Highlands. The building went on to be operated by the education authority as a

college for girls. A wing was added in

modernist style Modern architecture, also called modernist architecture, or the modern movement, is an architectural movement and style that was prominent in the 20th century, between the earlier Art Deco and later postmodern movements. Modern architecture wa ...

in 1969, and the council made other alterations such as the removal of fireplaces and installation of a central heating system throughout the building. The college closed in 1989 and the building remained empty and neglected for the next fourteen years, apart from a period in the mid-1990s during which it was used as a base for the filming crew of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

comedy-mystery-drama ''

Hamish Macbeth Hamish Macbeth is the police constable of the fictional Scottish Highlands, Scottish Highland town of Lochdubh, in a series of murder mystery novels created by M. C. Beaton (Marion Chesney). Considered by many to be a useless, lazy moocher, M ...

''. In 2002, the castle was bought by Sam and Perlin Dobson, a couple who ran a business in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

, England. Seventeen members of the Dobsons' extended family moved into the castle in the summer of 2003, including Sam and Perlin's daughter as well as Sam's parents and three of his siblings, each bringing their own spouses and children, leaving jobs in England and occupying a different wing of the castle. The castle was in need of major renovation at the time, with none of its bathrooms operational and several collapsed ceilings, and the Dobsons found they had to spend large sums of money and devote much of their time to repair work. This burden, coupled with the difficulty of living in a derelict building through the winter months, caused increasing disputes amongst the family. They decided to sell their story to a television company, which filmed the family's lives during their first year in the castle and produced a five-part

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

series called '' The Dobsons of Duncraig'', which aired on

from December 2004. The stress and financial pressures of renovating the castle took its toll on the family and by 2008 only Sam and Perlin's family were still residing there, after the other siblings had left, and Sam's parents evicted following a court order. In 2009 the Dobsons decided to sell the castle and move on. The castle was bought from the Dobson family by Suzanne Hazeldine, who began operating a bed and breakfast in the castle. After opening and running the B&B operations in the existing building for two years, she closed the castle in 2010 to renovate and convert it into luxury accommodation. The work was still in progress in 2016, when Hazeldine informed ''

The Press and Journal ''The Press and Journal'' is a daily regional newspaper serving northern and Highland Scotland including the cities of Aberdeen and Inverness. Established in 1747, it is Scotland's oldest daily newspaper, and one of the longest-running newspape ...

'' newspaper that she had given the building a "complete overhaul". The reopening was planned at the time for the spring of 2017, but it had still not reopened by 2020. As of 2021, the castle was once again open for bed and breakfast or weddings. The 40 acre property was listed for sale in August 2022 described as a "15 bedroom coastal castle ... with additional coach house, private island, jetty and boathouse". Of the bedrooms, 12 could be let out, each with an en suite bathroom.

References

External links

Duncraig Castle
{{Authority control Castles in Highland (council area) Country houses in Highland (council area) Category C listed buildings in Highland (council area) Listed castles in Scotland Houses completed in 1866 1866 establishments in Scotland