Literary hotel goes up for sale
A hotel where literary giants Robert Louis Stevenson and Charles Dickens both stayed has gone up for sale for £2.5 million.
The Royal Hotel in Bridge of Allan, Stirlingshire, hosted the young Stevenson and his family in 1862, and Dickens five years later.
Stevenson is known to have explored the surrounding area including caves and islets that would help inspire Treasure Island and Kidnapped, while Dickens visited the Royal to recuperate during a sell-out book readings tour.
One cave, now known as “Stevenson’s Cave”, beside the River Allan, is believed to be the inspiration for Ben Gunn’s home in Treasure Island, while an islet in the river features in Kidnapped.