http://www.duncraigcastle.com/index.html This is the main Web page for Duncraig, in its present incarnation as home for the Dobson family, which bought the castle and have renovated much of it for use as a bed and breakfast establishment. Duncraig is just outside the Highland village of Plockton on the West Coast of Scotland, and it has its own "request stop" on the famously beautiful West Highland train line. The castle is now for sale. I discovered this when I was searching for remote properties in Scotland, on the West Coast.
Serious offers of more than 750,000 GBP (U.S. $1,074,000 as of today) will be considered.
Download Duncraig PDF sale brochure with12 pages with floor plans and photos.
II have stared at Duncraig with longing to own the place. When I was in Scotland in May and June, our place was a stone's throw outside the hamlet of Duirinish a couple of miles from Plockton, and the place was magnificent and comfortable (see other posts in the category Scotland Forever), but it was not Duncraig Castle.
I would buy this place in a minute if I had a million today, but this is only what would be required to pass papers. A few million more will be required in the near term I believe, to restore and modernize the place, not that the present owners haven't tried. If you read the Web site listed first, you'll see that the Dobsons have poured their lives and money into the castle, and apparently they have decided it is time to let it go. I communicated a few weeks ago with Mrs. Dobson, and I am very nearly afraid to ask why now they have decided to sell, although I can guess the cause is the shear effort the place requires, and the financial consequences of a bad economy.
Twenty five years ago, a friend brought home from a trip to England a copy of the British magazine Country Life,and in its pages was a several-page advert for the sale of the largest of the Summer Isles, Tanera Mor, a beautiful island off the West Coast of Scotland, in Wester Ross. I remember the loveliness of the photographs, and the $3 million price. A few years ago I visited the beautiful island in Loch Broom and talked tothe present owners, and it was they who bought Tanera Mor, an island of sheep "for their amenity value," a few houses and soul-searing beauty of hills against the sea.
Tanera Mor is not Duncraig Castle, which requires a fortune to renovate and upkeep. Dobsons are going to relinquish their castle, and someone else will take on its responsibility. I sincerely wish it were me.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/05/realestate/keymagazine/105castle-t.html?_r=1
http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/eastmidlands/series6/castle_living.shtml
Dear Tech Writer,
I guarantee nothing,
except that my smile is as winning as a fresh mango smoothie, and that my fee would be paid by the seller.
You have not known solitude until you have spent a day in any number of South Florida real estate offices lately. I picked up my phone the other day and a tumbleweed blew out.
The bright sunshine taunts those who are down on their luck.
Cheerio!
Pinky LaRue
Posted by: Pinky LaRue | March 06, 2009 at 12:43 PM
Ms. LaRue,
I prefer the wind off the sea, sleet biting the scrub lands of the north, and the solitude of hard places. Not for me the sunny southlands and easy life splashing around in swimming pools and lazing on groomed lawns.
On the other hand, yoursis a beautiful property. Can you guarantee no neighbors for miles around?
Posted by: Tech Writer | March 03, 2009 at 04:06 PM
Dear Technical Writer,
Perhaps you would rethink and, in the spirit of recovery,
"Buy American!"
I have found an alternative in South Florida:
5 acres, 3 houses, and an operational organic nursery with offices and outbuildings, including 6 garage bays. They claim to have thousands of orchids on the property, as well as thousands more native and exotic plants.
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/13831-SW-232nd-St-Miami-FL-33170/44364776_zpid/
Not a Scottish castle, but with the savings in maintenance and repair, you could set the air conditioning as low as you like, and, with a vigorous tropical storm lashing the palms, you might think you're in the middle of a winter gale.
Instead of the Highland cattle trampling your estate, you will rescue a small manatee, or sea cow as they are called in Fla, and transform your swimming pool into a make-shift loch.
They paid $724,000 in December 2000, so I am sure that the asking price of $989,500 is negotiable.
I would be delighted to represent you in the transactions, am fully licensed, and can provide references upon request.
Pinky LaRue, Realtor Extraordinaire
Posted by: Pinky LaRue | March 03, 2009 at 01:50 PM