The grand house party is alive and well in Scotland, with a range of castles for hire and to buy for those with money to lavish
In pictures: Scottish castles to rent or buy
The recession may be impacting on the lower and middle ends of the holiday market, but jet setters are still visiting Scotland to hire castles and grand houses for high-end house parties at weekly fees that can exceed £60,000.
Andrew Loyd is no stranger to the whims of the super rich: as a former butler he has nine years’ service under his belt. Loyd is one of the co-founders of Loyd & Townsend Rose – a bespoke travel company specialising in elite house parties. But are such people really immune to the current economic circumstances?
Loyd says: “Sadly no one is recession proof, but I think it is fair to say that the wealthy have a ‘cushion’ denied to us mere mortals and for them life goes on.”
The grand house party is quite distinct from a hotel experience. The client takes over a property, fills it with their guests, and treats it like their home.
Roger Tempest bought Aldourie Castle on the southern shores of Loch Ness in 2002 and spent £10m doing it up. He says: “I was brought up in an historic house – Broughton Hall in Yorkshire – and I want everyone to be able to have that experience.”
Given that a week’s hire of this lavishly refurbished 500-acre castle costs from £42,000, it is not quite as accessible as he makes out. But Tempest says: “We can accommodate up to 28 people. If you consider that a week’s all inclusive stay here comes in at around £2,100 a head based on 20 guests, that compares favourably with other types of holiday.”
Attention to luxurious detail is crucial. At Ackergill Tower in Wick, on the north-eastern tip of Scotland, alarm clocks are redundant: guests are awoken by the sound of bagpipes played in the corridor outside their room, while a cup of tea is simultaneously placed by the bedside.
Meals are served either in the grand hall at the 15th-century core of the tower, in a loch-side bothy, or in an enormous tree house in the garden. It costs about £60,500 a week to hire Ackergill for up to a maximum of 48 guests, so expectations are high.
It’s not only historic piles that attract high-end clientele. Corrour Lodge, set deep in the wilds of the central Highlands near Fort William, is an ultra modern monument to grandeur in Portuguese granite, glass and steel. Designed by architect Moshe Safdie, its conical castellated turrets pay homage to the baronial style adopted by Victorian aristocrats and merchants for their Highland shooting lodges.
The lodge sits in a wild garden by the shores of Loch Ossian and is surrounded by 200 sq km of wilderness. Approached by way of an 11-mile private road, this £30m mansion is owned by the Rausing family – Swedish heirs to the Tetra Pak fortune – and is only let for about six weeks a year.
Tariffs start from £30,000 a week. The main house sleeps just 14 people, but a luxury bunk house – designed with children in mind – has room for a further 14.
For those looking for a holiday business with a recession-proof clientele, there are a number of Scottish properties on the market which could lend themselves to the high-end rental sector. Compared with prices down south, you can get quite a lot for your money, including historic interest, extensive gardens and spacious accommodation.
Myres Castle in Fife, which dates back to the 15th century, is on the market for offers in excess of £2.95m. It is set in 45-acre grounds and has 10 bedroom suites and several public rooms, and has previously been let out.
Missy Stuart-Menteth from agent Knight Frank says: “Being so close to St Andrews ensures that Myres Castle will attract global interest, not only due to the wonderful location but due to the outstanding condition of the house.”
Woodside Castle, also in Ayrshire, has five tower bedrooms, five principle bedrooms and a dungeon, plus four reception rooms. The only drawback with this grade A-listed castle, which is on the market for offers in excess of £1.75m with CKD Galbraith, is that not all the bedrooms are en suite.
If that is out of your price range, how about Aiket Castle near Dunlop in East Ayrshire, a reconstructed 15th-century castle set in 95 acres just 19 miles from Glasgow airport. The house has six bedrooms, eight cloakrooms, bathrooms and shower rooms, and a magnificent great hall – but crucially for those accustomed to comfort, it has been restored with very efficient underfloor heating. All this for offers in excess of £1.1m, or in two lots: £700,000 for the house and five acres and a separate lot (only available to the buyer of the first lot) of Aiket Mill plus 89 acres of grazing land, woodland and banking for offers above £400,000.
But if you prefer to go for a cosy rather than imposing style, Dalchonzie near Comrie in Perthshire could fit the bill. Again, most of the seven bedrooms are not en suite, but there are plenty of activities on offer nearby: golf courses at Crieff and Gleneagles, sailing and other watersports at Lock Earn five minutes drive from the house, which also has its own trout and salmon fishing in the river Earn, best known for its late summer and autumn runs. On the market for offers in excess of £885,000.
• This article was amended on 15 June 2011. The original referred to the “Rausling” family. This has been corrected.
