Of Tours 🚍 Whisky 🥃 & Handbags 👜

Dear Lairds & Ladies,

The summer is a time when I am either wanting to be out in the grounds or in the castle working away at maintenance or reparation projects, but that ends up being impossible at the height of the midge season (see How to Restore A Castle: Part One, Admonition the Twenty-Ninth) so, either I shelter in doors being frustrated or I do something different instead. This year I managed to find two new ways of bringing people to Dunans.

The first was a West Coast Tour of Whisky Distilleries for "the Glen 8" who rounded up a whirlwind tour of Argyll and Arran with a visit to Dunans for the Laird's tour and a picnic with myself and Sadie (and Pepper).

The second was a different type of itinerary. One of our Lairds is a professor in Community Sustainability at Rutgers University in New Jersey state. Jack contacted me last year proposing we took part in a study tour he was organising in sustainability in Scotland. I readily agreed as I have lots of connections in community development in South West Cowal, particularly with regard to forestry, the arts and housing. We toured the peninsula taking in Dunans for a performance of the Walking Theatre Company's Whisky Walk - it was delightful. In both cases I have included a few pictures to give you a flavour of what we did.

It occurs to me that there may be Lairds and Ladies out there who would like to organise similar bespoke tours with me. If you would like to explore this for 2026, or the autumn of this year, then please click the relevant link below.

Now aside from our ongoing offer for Castle Packages, which finishes at midnight on Friday, I wanted to let you all know that we have a limited stock of handbags available right now. It's first come first serve ...

A Handbag!!

Back in stock - but there are only three! Grab them while you can - else Lady Bracknell might get there first!

The handbag is made by Dorothy Nelson exclusively for Scottish Laird out of the large sett of 13oz. Dunans Rising Tartan. The bag is approximately 55cm wide and 38cm tall.

My Tartan Handbag!

The Laird's Whisky Tour:
West Coast of Scotland

It all began with an email asking whether I could recommend a transport service for a group of eight to take in six distilleries across the West Coast. I could, but they were all ferociously expensive and difficult to create the type of bespoke itinerary the group wanted. I ended up volunteering. It was a blast as the photos show!

Lindores Abbey Distillery was the first of six!!

Above, Glen Coe; below left, Waiting for the ferry to Arran; below right, Ailsa Craig

Above, Arran Distillery; below left, the Levencorroch Burn waterfall; below right, asparagus wrapped in parma ham for the barbecue

The Glen 8 and their guide in his Dunans Castle cap at the King's Cave Glamping site

West Coast Tours with Charles

Community Sustainability at Dunans & Cowal

From theatrical shenanigans in the grounds of Dunans to Forest Crofts at Kilfinan Woods, from forest bathing in Glennan woodland to a final group photo at the Kyles of Bute

West Coast Tours with Charles

In the meantime, if you have any queries about your title, the restoration or how to find us, please don't hesitate to get in touch via help@scottishlaird.com

Warmest regards as ever,

Charles & Sadie