Bus tycoon steers into row over glamping site at castle

NEIGHBOURS of the billionaire founder of Stagecoach have been angered by her plans to transform the Beaufort Castle estate into a glamping site.

Dame Ann Gloag is planning to turn her Highland estate in Scotland into a holiday resort, with 50 bespoke holiday cabins, fire pits and a café. But residents of the area say it will cause traffic chaos along the banks of the Beauly.

Dame Ann, who co-founded the transport company in 1980, bought the castle from Lord Lovat in 1995 for £2 million. Earlier this year, the 77-year-old businesswoman was allowed to build a house on land near Kinfauns Castle, Perth, despite local opposition. She was also involved in a row over building an outdoor activity centre near her Perthshire estate at Glassingall House.

Under the Beaufort Castle plans submitted to Highland council, the lodges would be arranged around a courtyard with a café, retail and office space and a wash house. It would also include “looser, more creative structures which would respond directly to the colour, shadow and sculptural forms created by the living woodland”.

Fire pits would be installed and there would be a field set aside for glamping.

Steve Byford, chairman of Kilmorack community council, said the resultant traffic to and from the site was “an accident waiting to happen”.

But another resident said: “Investment by the Gloag family is welcome around here especially if it will boost the local economy.” Savills, the estate agent, said the development addressed demand for visitor accommodation and would benefit the area economically.

The present castle was built in 1882, but the site has been in use since the 12th century.