A Texas hotelier has completed the luxury renovation of an estate in Angus after more than two years of delays caused by the Covid pandemic.
Archie and June Bennett completed the purchase of Auchavan Estate in the Angus Glens in the same week the world locked down in 2020. Located to the south of Cairngorms National Park, the project at the site included the restoration of some of the area's oldest properties into holiday rental accommodation.
Rated at either 4 or 5 stars, the five properties include a listed farm cottage called Presnerb, one of the oldest standing dwellings in Glenisla. Among the others is a former period hayloft and stables, and a secluded former shepherd's cottage.
The Auchavan properties sit on an estate of nearly 1,000 hectares and add to the approximately 2,000 hectare Glen Cally Estate which the Bennetts purchased in 2005. Glen Cally welcomes sporting visitors mainly for deer stalking and grouse shooting, while Auchavan comprises a mix of farmland and woodland offering walking and wildlife opportunities.
“We got the keys a week before lockdown in 2019 but we were in the States," said Ms Bennett, who was raised in Ireland before moving to the US. "In fact, it was more than two years before we were even up the hill."
Mr Bennett, who has decades of experince in the hotel market in Texas, said the couple are now "seeing light at the end of the tunnel”.
“We didn’t pay much attention to the cottages until we got over here," he added. "When we started looking around, some were in pretty good shape - most were not.
“I think they’ll be a real addition to upscale lodging in the Cairngorms area. There is not that much here for 4/5 star. Having several properties, situated together, means whole family reunions and get-togethers are possible; something currently lacking in the area.”
The project included road improvements, bridge fortification, and running electricity to an early 20th century stone cottage for the first time. Ms Bennett and a friend personally undertook the "labour of love" on the interior design.
Plans are being considered for a sixth waterside property and the creation of a group meeting space for hosting events.
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