300:, 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
22:
30:
267:. 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.
314:
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
318:
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
96:
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
282:
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
105:, 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.
84:
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
325:
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.
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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.
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163:. 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
248:, 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.
233:. 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.
205:
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.
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The castle's estate consists of 40 acres (16 hectares) of land, much of it forest, as well as a boathouse and two private islands. The castle is operated as a
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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.
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89:. 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
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101:. 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
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council, for use as a technical school for the
Highlands. The building went on to be operated by the education authority as a
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At the end of the war, Lady
Margaret Hamilton, whose principal residence was at Balmacara House, bequeathed the castle to
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By the 1920s the
Matheson family were in financial difficulty and they sold the castle to
116:. This was originally opened in 1897 as a private station, and is now open to the public.
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In 2002, the castle was bought by Sam and Perlin Dobson, a couple who ran a business in
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80:. The castle remained in the Matheson family until the 1920s, when it was sold to
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college for girls, operating in this capacity until its closure in 1989.
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677:"Railways in the Western Highlands. Opening of New Kyle Extension"
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and his wife Lady
Margaret Hamilton, owners of the neighbouring
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387:"Duncraig Castle, Laundry, Stables and Walled Garden (LB6989)"
284:
621:
The Kyle of
Lochalsh Line Great Railway Journeys Through Time
319:
work was still in progress in 2016, when
Hazeldine informed
349:
Explorer 428: Kyle of Lochalsh, Plockton & Applecross
283:
which it was used as a base for the filming crew of the
949:"Duncraig Castle Bed & Breakfast – North Coast 500"
1064:
Category C listed buildings in Highland (council area)
764:"NG8133: Duncraig Castle from Harbour Street Plockton"
594:
Scotland: An Encyclopedia of Places & Landscapes
155:
style, and has an asymmetrical nine-bay layout with
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675:
624:. Amberley Publishing Limited. Chapter: Duncraig.
455:"New lease of life for reality TV Highland castle"
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448:
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151:The three-storey building was constructed in the
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893:"Court orders parents to leave Highland castle"
710:Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness
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128:, part of the west coast of Scotland, in the
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655:Lochalsh and the Isle of Skye Tourist Guide
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1059:Country houses in Highland (council area)
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278:college for girls. A wing was added in
922:"Dobsons of Duncraig to call it a day"
694:– via British Newspaper Archive.
213:Duncraig Castle was built in 1866 by
181:, which is unstaffed and operated by
132:. It is on the northern shore of the
7:
229:, and was designed by the architect
848:"Family of 17 buys Scottish castle"
1054:Castles in Highland (council area)
845:Cramb, Auslan (6 September 2003).
14:
790:"Duncraig Castle College (99506)"
745:"Castle to be Technical School".
708:Inverness Gaelic Society (1976).
516:. Duncraig Castle. Archived from
487:. Duncraig Castle. Archived from
453:Restan, Sue (19 September 2016).
920:Macaskill, Mark (8 March 2009).
144:. It is close to the village of
1079:1866 establishments in Scotland
788:Historic Environment Scotland.
569:Historic Environment Scotland.
259:. The Hamiltons, supporters of
423:"The Curse of Duncraig Castle"
420:Rendon, Jim (2 October 2008).
124:Duncraig Castle is located on
64:. It was built in 1866 in the
1:
651:"Duncraig Castle by Plockton"
383:Historic Environment Scotland
821:BBC Inside Out East Midlands
768:Geograph Britain and Ireland
712:. Vol. 48. p. 295.
16:Castle in Lochalsh, Scotland
875:"The Dobsons of Duncraig",
136:, northeast of the town of
1095:
1069:Listed castles in Scotland
543:"Duncraig Railway station"
244:to their existing line to
242:Kyle of Lochalsh Extension
165:category-C listed building
50:category-C listed building
571:"Duncraig Halt (LB44180)"
56:, east of the village of
33:Aerial view of the castle
1074:Houses completed in 1866
597:. Collins. p. 172.
591:Munro, David M. (2006).
179:Duncraig railway station
177:The castle is served by
110:Duncraig railway station
108:The castle is served by
52:, it is situated in the
955:Limited. Archived from
618:Crawford, Ewan (2014).
307:The Dobsons of Duncraig
548:Gazetteer for Scotland
215:Sir Alexander Matheson
60:on the south shore of
34:
26:
460:The Press and Journal
322:The Press and Journal
287:comedy-mystery-drama
187:Kyle of Lochalsh line
114:Kyle of Lochalsh line
68:style, to designs by
54:Highland council area
44:, in the west of the
32:
24:
315:castle and move on.
74:Member of Parliament
1026: /
854:The Daily Telegraph
253:Sir Daniel Hamilton
219:Chinese opium trade
82:Sir Daniel Hamilton
683:The Glasgow Herald
491:on 26 January 2019
429:The New York Times
302:reality television
189:, which runs from
134:Lochalsh peninsula
78:Alexander Matheson
46:Scottish Highlands
35:
27:
979:"Duncraig Castle"
881:, 2 December 2004
823:. 25 October 2004
724:"Balmacara House"
686:. 3 November 1897
631:978-1-44561-425-0
604:978-0-00472-466-9
514:"Duncraig Castle"
485:"Duncraig Castle"
363:978-0-31924-660-3
310:, which aired on
172:bed and breakfast
153:Scottish baronial
103:bed and breakfast
66:Scottish baronial
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195:Kyle of Lochalsh
140:and east of the
138:Kyle of Lochalsh
76:and businessman
40:is a mansion in
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185:. It is on the
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957:the original
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167:since 1982.
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142:Isle of Skye
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988:4 September
878:Radio Times
246:Stromeferry
223:family seat
199:Stromeferry
126:Loch Carron
120:Description
62:Loch Carron
1048:Categories
1018:57°20′17″N
898:The Herald
726:. Am Baile
334:References
298:Nottingham
272:Ross-shire
240:built the
1021:5°37′59″W
690:15 August
191:Inverness
130:Highlands
112:, on the
933:28 March
905:28 March
801:23 March
773:23 March
660:22 March
554:28 March
524:21 March
495:21 March
466:21 March
435:20 March
356:. 2015.
227:Attadale
203:Plockton
183:ScotRail
146:Plockton
58:Plockton
42:Lochalsh
983:Savills
795:Canmore
352:(Map).
265:weaving
209:History
860:13 May
628:
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576:13 May
392:13 May
360:
157:gables
963:8 May
827:8 May
730:8 May
990:2022
965:2021
935:2020
907:2020
862:2021
829:2021
803:2020
775:2020
732:2021
692:2016
662:2020
626:ISBN
599:ISBN
578:2021
556:2020
526:2020
497:2020
468:2020
437:2020
394:2021
358:ISBN
312:BBC1
201:and
159:and
99:BBC1
48:. A
285:BBC
225:at
193:to
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