We absolutely loved it. At that point we were living in Dubai and it was just such a different life in Scotland—being outside with so much greenery was great and it felt like a slower pace of life.
At that time I was working in radio in Dubai, and one day the following year I came across a story about buying a castle in Scotland for roughly the price of a parking spot in London. We hadn’t been to that area on our trip, and we didn’t actually have a sensible chat about whether we should buy a castle. We just decided to give them a call and they told us it had been on the market for a while
Kilmartin Castle was built in 1550 and is at the top of the village of Kilmartin in the south-west of Scotland. But it’s a little hidden away, you really can’t see it until you drive up a gravel path and through the trees. It sits on the edge of the Kilmartin Glen so you have incredible views across and the castle sits on around an acre of land.
However, the first time we walked into the castle, I completely ruled out buying it. Tom and Olive, the previous owners, had used Kilmartin Castle as more of a holiday home. They lived in a big castle in Cumbria and they had two other “hobby” castles.
So although they had spent 10 years doing the stone work really well, only using the stone they found on the castle grounds, it wasn’t in great shape when we got there. We found mould behind everything that had been in contact with a wall, and the interior had a very ’80s feel, with pine wooden panelling and cheap doors. There were three bedrooms and one electric power shower, so it didn’t feel like a castle at all and it was very cold.
But Simon loved it, felt like we could transform it into a really amazing place and he persuaded me. The asking price for the castle was around $485,000 (£375,000), but because of the condition, we ended up scraping the money together and paying around $428,000 (£331,700).
After buying the castle and well before fully renovating it in 2018, we spent two weeks here in April of 2014. We painted every wall, pulled the carpets up and installed some art work and rugs. It was amazing to see that once we opened the doors and put the heating on, the whole place began to dry out.
Then people started renting it on AirBnB. But every now and again we would get massive bills for issues or breakages. We actually got married at the castle in June 2016 and the septic tank broke on the day of our wedding!
After we got married, I remember that both of us had begun to feel really sick of working so hard for someone else. One morning, when we’d paid off all our credit cards and debts, we went to breakfast at a cute little cafe in Dubai and wrote down how much we could save in six months if we moved out of our apartment and stayed with friends.
We realized it would be enough for us to move to Scotland and work on the castle. So, six months later we flew to England, bought a campervan and spent six months travelling around Europe, collecting items for the castle and working with the architect on the plans for the renovation. But when we arrived at Kilmartin Castle at the end of 2018, everything was running late.
On January 1, 2019 we had to start work demolishing stuff and digging up the ground floor ourselves. There was no waterproofing and when it rained puddles would seep up and form on the floor. We had to start in the corner, dig around every single stone, remove the flagstone and then hammer drill through 20cms of concrete to get to the mud underneath. We did that for six weeks together with no lighting or radio. But we loved being lost in something so labor intensive.
At that time we were really trying to save on costs and didn’t want to hire a skip, so we decided to take trash to the dump ourselves. Every day we’d fill the campervan we were living in with trash from the castle, take that trash to the dump, come back, clean the campervan thoroughly, live in it and then start again the next day. Looking back, it was a pretty crazy choice to make in the cold and rain of winter, but it did save us about $7,750 (£6,000).
Because we converted the interior of the castle from three bedrooms and one bathroom into a bed and breakfast with five bedrooms and en-suite bathrooms, we knew the costs would be significant. But at the beginning, when we were living in a fantasy land, we thought the cost wouldn’t be more than around $130,000 (£100,000).
We had an excel spreadsheet and we’d have all the tradesmen come over, look around and give us quotes. But the costs just kept creeping up. With the plumbing for example, we were initially quoted $6,500 (£5,000) to get the place up to speed. Then some further work meant the cost rose to $35,000 (£27,000), and a couple of months after that, we were told that to fill all five baths at the same time with hot water would bring the cost of plumbing to around $55,000 (£42,000). So we’d get upset. But the reality was, that happened with all the costs involved. We just had to borrow loads more money, but it was worth it.
We bought a lot of antiques for the interior of the castle, but most are objects. We wanted to make sure the interiors were cool, but in keeping with the castle and wouldn’t date. So we’d be in a flea market in France and see an amazing side unit that we could put a sink on, and we’d buy it. We bought a lot of lamps, unique tables and chairs in markets and then had the chairs reupholstered by an amazing local upholstery specialist. Apart from two, we bought antique beds and reupholstered them. And some of our favorite art is in the castle rooms. We even have a fake horse’s head we bought in France that is originally from an old fairground.
Interestingly, the castle was built in 1550 and the first owner was John Carswell, the local church rector the the time. He became bishop of the Isles, and he travelled a lot to France and Europe. So we always felt that he, like us, would have been collecting items for the castle during his European travels.
We’d planned for the renovations to take four months, but in the end our first guests arrived in the middle of July 2019 and the whole project cost around $285,000 (£220,000).
We were doing well, but when COVID-19 hit earlier this year there were a few scary moments. There was a real sense of panic around March, and after the lockdown was announced in Scotland, people started getting in touch asking for refunds on their bookings. But as we started to talk to people, around 95 percent decided to rebook in the future, which was such a relief.
Once the feeling of panic subsided, the extra time actually gave us the chance to tackle our “to do” list, chores like snagging and re-varnishing furniture. Simon also built some additional furniture, like window seats. We even created a rockery with a herb garden outside, as well as a veggie garden. Although we didn’t know anything about gardening, our 87-year-old neighbor, Millie, was amazing. Her backyard fence overlooks the veggie garden and throughout lockdown she was giving us advice and lending us tools. She’s now got a gate directly into the garden so she can come and get veggies herself.
We reopened in August and it’s great to have guests back in the castle. People love it.
There’s something about the way it feels that you can’t capture in photos. Walking in and being in a stone vaulted hallway, it just feels like a really old castle. We’ve had such an interesting array of guests, from people in metal bands, to those who work in TV, artists, novelists, and even a composer recently. Everyone has a story and they’re all looking for something a little bit different I think.
It has been tough learning to work together. Simon was used to being the guy people listened to in his old job, and I was used to being in control in my work. So now we’re having to collaborate and compromise, we do argue. But, everything we do now is our decision.
I think I’d always been comfortable getting a pay check from someone else, but I’ve never felt more secure. Running a castle is way better than having a day job.
Stef Burgon and her husband Simon Hunt are the owners of Kilmartin Castle in West Scotland. Kilmartin Castle has five double bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms that can be booked individually for a minimum two-night stay. Or, guests can book exclusive use of the castle for a minimum four-night stay. Find out more about the castle here, and follow Stef and Simon’s adventures at the castle on Instagram @kilmartincastle .
All views expressed in this piece are the writer’s own.
As told to Jenny Haward.
