Shining Lights

Under a blistering Middle Eastern sun, 3,700 miles away from Scotland’s wild, windswept west coast, Stef Burgon and Simon Hunt spotted an advertisement: a 16th-century castle for sale. Kilmartin Castle is cradled by a glen littered with ancient monuments, many dating back to prehistoric times. Within walking distance of the castle is Temple Wood stone circle and nearby Nether Largie standing stones. It was the stuff of would-be-renovator fantasies. The couple sent Stef’s parents on an eight-hour road trip to view the castle and the rest is Grand Designs-style history.

In 2018, they swapped the desert’s heat for Scottish mizzle, spending the first year living in a campervan working as ‘apprentice builders’ installing new heating, plumbing and fixing the leaks. This was no Disney-style conversion but one that respected the castle’s bones and retained the building’s integrity – with a few mod cons thrown in. Now, you can stay here. There are five bedrooms, all ensuite, decorated with antiques they’ve collected along the way, romantic four-posters, free-standing copper tubs… ‘Speel’ which means ‘the climb’ is accessed via a secret spiral staircase on the second floor; it features a vaulted ceiling and antique upholstered monkey bed. ‘1550’ has a high beamed ceiling, wood-burning stove and walk-in shower in the turret, ‘the Snug’ arrow-slit windows and a hand-crafted headboard made from a fallen tree from a nearby estate.