Scottish Castles Association

A truly inspiring restoration project is nearing completion - and the results are nothing short of magnificent.

Mingary Castle - before and after

Only a year ago, 13th century Mingary Castle, situated on the coast a mile from the small village of Kilchoan in Lochaber on the west coast of Scotland, stood as a roofless ruin having been unoccupied for over 150 years. Today, thanks to a £2.3million restoration project, it has been converted into a luxury holiday retreat and is expecting to welcome its first visitors this summer.

The 700-year-old castle, which was close to collapse, has been restored using such exceptional workmanship that it is expected to last for another 700 years.

The castle is owned by Donald Houston of the Ardnamurchan Estate and the work to transform the castle into a residential property was granted permission through the Mingary Preservation Trust who have blogged the progress of the works on their website. You can read the posts and see how the transformation was completed by clicking here .

Mingary, photographed by SCA member Brian McGarrigle, showing extensive scaffolding during the work

You can also view some great pictures of the restoration in an article on the Press & Journal website - click here .

Mingary - somewhere under the rainbow

We are certain the Mingary restoration project will inspire and encourage many others to look past the ruin, find a pot of gold under a rainbow and make their (restoration) dreams come true!

Top two photographs courtesy of: Mingary Preservation Trust