News — castle restoration

Wednesday the 18th March, the fencers finally left Dunans, and we have a fully browser-proof fence! Here's the latest video update – with footage of both the track and Pepper our Spaniel(!): Above, without intervention the tracks will end up turning into burns. Below left, a pedestrian gate, and below right, the stumps in the old commercial coups are starting to disappear, even as the mounding stripes the hill above. Below, the question is whether the areas left outside the enclosure will regenerate without significant intervention. Only time will tell! Our native woodland is the first step on an inevitable progress...

Dear Lairds & Ladies,Another dreich week on the hill with the fencers going great guns! They have complete 60% of the fence line and are now getting ready for the difficult bit! Maps, pics, vids and debatable disquisitions follow, including a short video panorama of the cultivated hill. As well as a reminder that you can still get 15% off tartan items when you buy 3 or more items - but the scarves are now sold out!! Never fear, we will have more in mid-summer, but for now its all ties, caps, cufflinks and keyfobs until Valentine's night.We hope to...

Dear Lairds & Ladies,So a quick update on fencing progress - as well as news of a new face on the Dunans Castle Insta / Facebook feeds for updates on the Woodland Creation... (It's Sadie!!). As well as a reminder that our Heart of the Woodland Valentine's offer finishes at midnight on Saturday, and that you can still get 15% off tartan items when you buy 3 or more items - its all below!!We hope to see you all soon!Warmest regards as ever,Charles & Sadie Fencing Progress & New Map! Our management folks at Bell Ingram have finalised a new...

Dear Lairds & Ladies,We hope you had a restful and festive holidays and are looking forward with relish to the new year. We had a surprise on returning from our holidays - our teddies, and ties, and keyfobs, and sports caps had all arrived in a huge box (as pictured above) - we have added them all to the website and they are available now to our newsletter subscribers to buy (we won't be offering them on the main website page until you have all had a chance to make your orders!)2026 promises lots of activity, and as I write...

  Dear Lairds & Ladies,Please see the link below the offer for the latest news on the forest! I have recorded an instagram video explaining the next stage in our project! I hope you enjoy it.   Charles shares news on the project! Watch Video 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.comWarmest regards as ever,Charles & Sadie

Dear Lairds & Ladies,Mid-October and we are prepping for the festive period, but maybe not in the way you'd expect. I've included a short video on my most recent project which is designed to make our water supply a little more robust during the winter months, simply by making it less stony!! Also included this week, are photos from a lovely wedding this July - Jon and Madeline were hand-fasted in a hugely romantic ceremony in the grounds ... photos to cherish and enjoy! A Celebration in July:Jon & Madeline This July Wee Wild Weddings brought Jon & Madeline to Dunans for...

Dear Lairds & Ladies,It has been a while hasn't it? Since last I emailed the hardy jammers from AIP have been and created a circular path under the easternmost arch of the bridge (pics below), we have had some intense weather and we have just been informed that the procurement for our woodland fencing is complete and will be started in November! Pre-Order UpdateThe RURADHS have arrived!! I just wanted to let everyone who has pre-ordered one that they will be sent out early next week! We are offering a further 10 on the website for order now!Scarves update: We...

Dear Lairds & Ladies,July and August have been warm, blustery and fairly damp, but despite the inclement weather, we have been privileged to host Val & Scott's lovely renewal of vows (above) as well as several picnics. In this month's edition of the newsletter we have three short films for your delectation on woodlands and storm damage (yes, we have had another one, though not quite as disastrous at January's). We are also offering the Ruradh for pre-order - of which we have an ever-decreasing number for you. Seedlings, Saplings and Temperate Rainforests with Charles A short video about our...

Dear Lairds & Ladies,The photo of trees above, and more specifically sessile oaks in temperate rainforest, is a lovely image of the type of woodland we are going to create around the restored castle - an arboreal mantle if you like: this newsletter we are offering you a different kind of mantle as well as the opportunity to participate in the planting of this gorgeous forest. First the mantle that everyone can wear: our Ruradh in the Dunans Rising Tartan is on pre-order exclusively for subscribers of the newsletter. There are limited numbers and they will be sent out in...

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...

Dear Lairds & Ladies,We have slipped almost unnoticed into June and summer. Partly because it seems we have had summer already with almost six weeks of fine weather, and partly because lots has been happening. In this week's newsletter we are concentrating on the lighter side, with two lovely things that have happened here. The first, as the photo above shows, we had a lovely fairy-tale wedding with Holly and Bruce organised by Wee Wild Weddings. Such romance, such fun! And then quite out of left field, our youngest produced a rather wonderful design in Dunans Rising tartan for her...

Charles's hit presentation to the members of Forbes House Museum in NY, USA.

Our venerable tour guide Gordon continues to guide Lairds, Ladies and their friends around the grounds of Dunans Castle, with historical anecdotes, tales of the project and future plans. This is an unmissable hour which always finishes at the plots of the Lairds and Ladies as well as a Q&A which Laird Charles. If you would like to come to Dunans and go on a tour, then please use the links above in 'Events & Visits'. Please note all visits are by appointment.

Well, the last fortnight has been .... interesting. And distressing. And exhausting. And unexpected. It all started with Storm Éowyn barrelling in from the west across the Atlantic and hitting us in the morning of 24th January. At about 12.20 the first major tree came down – across the drive. This is the second of the five planted by the Fletchers in c1850 to come down. The idea was that this group of standard exotics, three West Coast Cedars, a Monkey Puzzle (or Chilean Pine) and a Noble Fir would provide a suitable half-avenue to grace the approach to the...

In the third week of September Dunans hosted volunteers from Adventures in Preservation who worked tirelessly to finish the repointing of the curtain wall - a project which we have been working on since 2022 with our jammers!   if you would like to get involved with our sessions in 2025 please visit the Adventures in Preservation website here.

Over the last six months the bridge has come under threat both physically and in law. ScottishLaird has therefore decided to create a line of products based on artwork created by the Laird. The personalised items include certificates, t-shirts and canvas wall art. Simply search for 'defender' in the search box to learn more.