The Castle

Like the phoenix, we wish to raise it from the ashes.

It is a long-term task and we sincerely thank all the Ladies, Lairds & Lords without whom nothing could be achieved.

The objective is to raise Dunans from its ashes to become a cultural and accommodation space.

Architect Robin Kent and engineers from David Narro Associates have set up a costed conservation plan for the site, you can obtain this plan in book form.

2019 was the year of the big cleaning as you can see in the video

The Bridge

Dunans Bridge was completed in 1815, before the main building was transformed into a ‘castle’. Built by Thomas Telford, the bridge was declared a historic landmark in 1971 for its national, if not international, significance. It is a unique bridge. Although many of Telford’s bridges are similar in architecture, Dunans Bridge stands out for its three arches, gargoyles, hexagon pillars and size (16 metres). Built to celebrate Wellington’s victory at Waterloo in 1812, the bridge crosses the Alt a Chaol Ghleann River and provides a spectacular passage to Dunans Castle.

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This video shot in 2019 with the aim of setting up crowdfunding.

The rehabilitation of the bridge has begun!

Here is the fabulous work of the Volunteers, a huge thank you!

The forest

Here are the explanations in pictures and soon all the translation in writing!

I wanted to give you some news on the progress of forestry and forestry.

The reason for the importance of this subject and everything that is happening in Dunans at the moment.

The felling of trees is underway, it is the opportunity to take a big step in the project of the castle of Dunans.

Previously, I had mentioned the possibility of creating a new access to facilitate the restoration of the castle and this is the main reason for the acquisition of the forest.

We have been working on the management of the 260 acres (105.21 hectares), it has become clear that we have a great opportunity to advance the restoration of the castle behind me.

The sale of wood will make it possible to create a structure to cross the river, it will also allow progress in the work of the castle.

But that’s not all, the idea is that once we cut down the trees (not native to Scotland), and you can hear in the background the sound of the tractor moving the trunks. We will have the opportunity to replant native trees according to a defined planting plan. This will give a huge boost to the restoration of the castle because not only will we be able to plant a forest, get grants for it, trace paths that will allow everyone to walk there and give the Lairds, Lords and Ladies a larger space to visit. But we can also use its plantations as carbon offsets. We should be able to sequester a total of 26,000 tonnes of carbon by estimating the lifespan of this new forest. This new forest will be a forest of trees native to Scotland composed of deciduous trees, some pines, but especially native to Scotland. It also becomes a carbon capture project, it allows to develop biodiversity, carbon absorption, develop a kind of ecological benefit that we all like to see in Scotland and around the world.

The income from the carbon offset will allow us to carry out important work in the castle. Possibly, to put a roof on it, if not that, at least start the renovation of part of the structure. As you know, if you follow the project, we have in recent years set up a programme involving the creation of 6 to 7 apartments to house the Lairds and the Ladies.

These accommodations can be created in the building one by one, which means for example, if we can create a 2-bedroom apartment, close to the house, then we can have an income to continue.

This progressive way allows us to eliminate the risk of having to restore the entire building at once. This is the lesson learned in recent years: we must ensure that whatever we do, we do not run out of money and that the project grows.

What I mean is that the forest project opens up facilities for the restoration of the castle which should take between 3 to 5 years.

And that for me and I guess for all visitors to Dunans is beautiful because for the first time we can set a date when you will have the opportunity to stay here in the castle, when the castle comes back to life again.

If you want to support this reforestation project, you can do so in several ways: you can continue to buy souvenir plots but we have also set up tree sponsorship which once all the Sitka are removed and once the paths are mapped out, we can start planting and we have had to delay planting the trees sponsored by everyone until now because of felling work. If you have seen the photos and noticed how the cutting of wood and skidding caused damage to the ground, you will understand that this caution was necessary. You can also buy the commemorative map that is available on the site, it shows how Dunans is a jewel of nature. There are also photos of your souvenir plot of land that pleases a lot. All you have to do is give us the reference of your plot and we will find it to send you a nice picture of your land and we have also now put together a map of the “Premium” plots which is very pretty and finally of course, if you wish, you can buy a foot² in the castle with the Castle pack which is also in high demand. His presentation is splendid.

I hope to see you soon in Dunans to visit and remember that you have to book. We are deeply happy as the next 5 years seem to be the most exciting and full of achievements we have ever had in Dunans.