Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

From crumbling historic castle to stunning luxury hotel… Mingary Castle’s restoration in pictures

Mingary Castle
Mingary Castle

After two years of restoration – costing more than £2million – historic Mingary Castle will finally be ready to open as a luxury hotel next month.

The 13th century castle, which stands near Kilchoan on the most westerly point of the British mainland, became a ruin after lying unoccupied for more than 150 years.

The walls were close to crumbling and it had no roof.

But its owner Donald Houston, of Ardnamurchan Estate, was granted permission to turn it into a residential property, through the Mingary Preservation Trust.

And work on the £2.3million project to transform it into a holiday retreat for the rich and famous started in April 2014.

During the renovation work, a number of exciting archaeological finds were discovered, including ancient graffiti, cannon ball fragments, the leather heel of a shoe, secret passages and a small chapel that was sealed up around 500 years ago that has now been turned into a bathroom.

Mingary-Castle-4Mingary-Castle-8

It had been hoped that it would be completed by last Christmas, but it is now due to open on May 1.

The impressive castle, which was the seat of Clan MacIain, now boasts its own drawbridge and five double bedrooms, all with ornate four-poster beds.

Manager Holly Bull, who will also be the cook for the exclusive establishment, confirmed that their first guests were currently booked to arrive on May 6.

She said she thought the Christmas deadline had been a bit “over optimistic” and bad weather had not helped.

Mrs Bull said: “We’re so very close and it’s very exciting.

“It’s been a massive project, but all the major building work is completed and the drawbridge is in. They’re just putting the finishing touches to it now.

“We’ve got all the furniture in and it’s looking really good.

“We’ve still got pictures to put up and a few other bits and pieces, but we’re pretty much there now.”

Mingary-Castle-7Mingary-Castle-5

She added that they recently sent out a newsletter to about 250 people who had expressed an interest and received a flurry of bookings straight away.

And this year could be the only chance many people will have to stay in the luxurious resort.

Mrs Bull said: “This year we’re opening on a room by room basis, but we’re hoping it will become more exclusive with people booking the whole castle for them and their friends.”

Mr Houston previously explained that turning the castle into a holiday let was the best way to ensure it would be self-financing.

But he admitted it would be expensive to rent, particularly during the summer, and it would probably only be the very wealthy who could afford to do so.

Work being carried out on Mingary Castle
Work being carried out on Mingary Castle
Work being carried out on Mingary Castle
Work being carried out on Mingary Castle
Work being carried out on Mingary Castle
Work being carried out on Mingary Castle
Work being carried out on Mingary Castle
Work being carried out on Mingary Castle
Work being carried out on Mingary Castle
Work being carried out on Mingary Castle
Work being carried out on Mingary Castle
Work being carried out on Mingary Castle