A towering achievement
How one epic post-war trek inspired a building project of a lifetime
THE Second World War had ended two years previously when 22-year-old architecture student Ian Begg took himself off on a 135-mile trek through some of Scotland’s most spectacular terrain.
Kirkcaldy lad Ian had been at Edinburgh College of Art when war broke out. His studies were interrupted and he went off to Glasgow Uni’s Naval Division before joining the US Navy to train as a pilot in the Fleet Air Arm.
When hostilities ended and Ian returned home, he and a fellow student decided to embark on the huge walk from Birse in Aberdeenshire to Aviemore, then Inverness, then Lochinver, eventually venturing down the West Coast to Achnashellach.
It was a journey that would change Ian’s life.
Now 90, with a 55-year career as an award-winning architect, Ian recalls: “When we got to Achnashellach, there was a goods train sitting in the station and I asked the guard if we could get a ride to Kyle of Lochalsh.
“As we came round the bay at Plockton the sun was shining. It was beautiful and I said to my friend, ‘I’m coming back.’”
That was 68 years ago.
Today, Ian is sitting in the Italianate loggia high up on the 20th Century tower he built from scratch just outside Plockton.
From the bright blue seat on which he sits he can see the castle’s lush five acres of wild gardens and paddocks neatly framed by ionic columns and archways, similar to those used in the design of Edinburgh’s Waverley Station. Beyond is Loch Carron.
He tells me: “This castle and its location are a dream come true. After that train journey I knew I wanted to be here.”
It is easy to see why he fell in love with the place. Here, the warming influence of the Atlantic Gulf Stream lends the
area an exotic charm. Palm trees sway in the gentle breeze and pretty painted cottages dot the shore where crystalline waters lap coral beaches.
To Ian and his wife Ruth Fiskin, 60, it’s home. And its beauty is matched only by that of the castle itself – Ravens’ Craig, which today is on the market through Strutt and Parker for offers over £675,000.
It took six years for Ian to complete the tower. It was finished in 1992 and the couple have lived in it ever since.
The castle’s style and layout have been developed from Ian’s experience working on old castles and tower houses.
He explains: “A lot of people asked me why I didn’t restore an old castle. But I wanted a different home for myself.
“I wanted the feel of an old place but with all the mod cons.”
The aim was to achieve the economy of building and heating a house on a small
footprint. And although firmly rooted in the tradition, Ravens’ Craig is of modern construction, with concrete block walls and underfloor heating.
Inside, it has a generously proportioned living space spread over four floors, plus a basement with workshop and wine cellar.
The ground floor has the main entrance, a loo and utility room, a dining/living room, kitchen, conservatory and boiler room.
The generous turning stair in the east tower is traditional and leads to the Great Hall which enjoys an antique French fireplace and occupies most of the first floor.
Flooded with light from windows in all four of its external walls, its spectacular panelled ceiling was created by a joiner from Grantown on Spey and is modelled on that of The Room of the Five Queens at the Château de Chenonceau in France.
From this level a smaller, circular stair with open newel and neat edge detail leads up to the four bedrooms.
This stairway is inspired by the 17th Century secondary stair in the Borromini church of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontana in Rome.
Lifestyle changes have led to his decision to sell his great love, Ravens’ Craig.
He tells me: “I’m 90 now and can no longer walk as well as I could.
“So we are moving into Plockton itself, two-and-a-half miles away. Then I will be able to walk to the pub and the shop.
“I’m sorry, up to a point, to leave but I have come to accept change is necessary.”