Scottish anchorages

..... there is one very big attraction, really big. That is the bizarre and crumbling Kinloch Castle, bizarre more in its history and contents than in its external structure which is neo Tudor sandstone dull. It was built at the very end of the 19th century by George Bullough who inherited the wealth of his father, a self made Lancashire cotton magnate. Although it was only his ‘home’ for a few weeks every year he spent millions on it by today’s standards to impress his hunting, shooting and fishing guests – and his French wife I should imagine too. Amazingly many of the original contents of the house are still there in an Edwardian time warp, undisturbed since the family sold out, and seemingly just walked away in 1957. There is one hundred plus year old furniture like the swivel chairs in the dining room, originally from his grand yacht the Rhouma, the damask wall coverings gently mouldering, the lion and leopard skin carpets, the amazing showers with their array of taps and nozzles to direct water at whatever body part is desired, the instruments left behind - it is said - by the musicians in the ballroom gallery, the full sized billiard table with the rules framed on the wall beside it, the note book with the list of injured treated on the Rhouma when she was used as a hospital ship during the Boer war, and the piece de resistance – the still working orchestrion which was originally destined for Balmoral. To get a feel for the opulence and wastage of the posh Edwardians you can do no better than read the 'Bare Feet and Tackety Boots' book I mentioned earlier.

But Sir George was not just a dilettante who spent his inheritance on game parties. For example he had the billiard room artificially ventilated to get rid of the cigar smoke, he built the hydroelectric dam which still powers the island today, and he planted the deciduous woodland which is so pleasant to walk in, full of birdsong in the spring and early summer - including cuckoos.

You need to know that the tours are in the early afternoon. When I went the guide was a New Zealander which added to the bizarreness of the experience – but then I am not sure there are any Scots on the island anyway.

What the future holds for this building is very unclear, it would need millions to restore it. But better this than spending those millions on weapons of mass destruction which the UK seems so keen on.

There is a bit of a shop and a village hall which has a bit of a café with bar billiards, internet access, children's toys and table tennis all housed in a big tin roofed building tacked on to the original farm buildings. There is also a bistro in the castle that does dinner but I have not tried this myself (ph 01687 462 037).