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Knowes Hotel owner plans to turn Banff’s Ship Inn pub into eight-suite AirBnB complex

The pub famous for its appearance in the classic film has been closed for several years.

The Ship Inn in Banff and Knowes Hotel owner Wayne Stewart.
The Ship Inn in Banff and Knowes Hotel owner Wayne Stewart. Image: DC Thomson

Banff’s Local Hero pub could be given a facelift as an eight-bedroom self-catering complex.

The Ship Inn closed during the pandemic, and its owner at the time lodged plans to turn it into a cafe about two years ago.

What followed was a community spat that attracted attention from Hollywood stars and famous film critics.

Work has already taken place on tearing apart the bar. Image: Aberdeenshire Council

They backed locals’ dismay at the thought of losing the pub which doubled as the inside of the MacAskill Arms in the beloved Bill Forsyth comedy.

But it wasn’t enough to save The Ship Inn. The campaign to save it hit the rocks when the cafe proposals were rubber-stamped last November.

A scene filmed inside the Aberdeenshire pub.

Latest on Ship Inn AirBnB plans

But now there’s another twist in the tale, coming after the site was put on the market for £195,000 last year.

New owner Wayne Stewart, who runs Macduff’s Knowes Hotel just a few miles away, has other ideas.

The Knowes Hotel in Macduff. Image: DC Thomson

Mr Stewart has tabled fresh proposals that would see the cafe plans ditched.

Under his vision for the premises, the ground floor would be turned into four self-catering suites, with another four built upstairs.

This means the plans will now have to again be decided by councillors.


What do you think of the latest proposals? Let us know in our comments section below


Who is Wayne Stewart?

Mr Stewart is the chef and owner of the Knowes Hotel.

He took over the business in 2017, and carried out some major refurbishments.

Wayne Stewart, chef-owner of The New Knowes Hotel

He started cooking aged 16 and trained in various local hotels and restaurants before securing work with offshore catering firms.

Mr Stewart also runs Restaurant Nineteen at the Duff House Royal Golf Club.

The previous plans to transform the bar attracted attention from Local Hero superfan and well-known critic Mark Kermode, along with Denis Lawson – who played the role of the bar owner in the movie.

You can see the Ship Inn AirBnB plans here.

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