Having secured a £650,000 grant from Historic Scotland and a £100,000 loan from Highland Opportunity Ltd in 2010, the MacLeod Estate was able to embark on the first phase of restoration works to repair and renew the castle’s flat lead roof. This was only made possible because the MacLeod Estate funded the majority of the £1.2 million project cost by taking on very high debt levels which remain to this day. The roof restoration was completed on budget and ahead of schedule in November 2010. The quality of the workmanship was second to none, and Hugh’s goal of rendering Dunvegan Castle Skye-proof against the elements was achieved.

In 2011, the MacLeod Estate embarked on the second phase of works to restore the castle’s windows and various masonry elements including replacing all the rusting iron window lintels in the South Wing. Since then, the MacLeod Estate has invested a further £2.8 million in numerous projects to restore the castle’s interiors, exteriors and its historic collection, alongside major re-landscaping works in the castle gardens to further enhance the visitor experience. The remit of the phased restoration works at Dunvegan Castle & Gardens is to reveal more of the original features and add new features within an overall design aesthetic that is sympathetic to Dunvegan’s historic setting. The cumulative impact of these phased works so far, which have largely been accomplished in-house, has been widely recognised with Dunvegan winning the prestigious Historic Houses Restoration Award in 2019, the ‘Helping it Happen’ Tourism Award in 2018, a 5* quality assurance grading by VisitScotland since 2016, in addition to being shortlisted by the UK Heritage Awards and the Scottish Rural Awards in 2019 among others.

In common with all built heritage, the castle, gardens and estate buildings cost a small fortune to maintain in Skye’s unforgiving climate. The Estate’s policy has always been to reinvest the seasonal fruits of our labours back into preserving our precious heritage and improving the visitor experience, but there is only so much we can achieve with our limited resources.

If you would like to support our ongoing mission to preserve, develop and share the unique history of Dunvegan Castle & Gardens, please join our Friends of Dunvegan membership scheme, purchase an item from our Online Shop, or make a donation to the following dedicated estate account:

Account name: MacLeod Estate Restoration
Account Number: 00311874
Sort Code: 60-93-03
IBAN: GB19 WBYS 6093 0300 3118 74

Any donations, however large or small, will be gratefully received, and will help fund the circa £2.5 million of vital outstanding restoration works, including the restoration of the castle’s medieval kitchen and replacement of the building’s failing cement harling. We thank you for your support.