Plan to turn Carbisdale Castle into hotel dropped

Carbisdale is a former stately home

A company has dropped its plan to buy Carbisdale Castle in Sutherland and turn it into a luxury hotel.

A former stately home, the property was a youth hostel until about five years ago when it was closed because of the high cost of repairing water damage.

Aberdeen Capital Ltd has ceased negotiations to purchase and develop the building, the Scottish Youth Hostel Association has said.

The association plans to put the property up for sale again.

Ghost Betty

The castle and its entrance gates are listed as category B, which means they are structures of regional historical importance.

The Dowager Duchess of Sutherland had Carbisdale Castle built near Ardgay between 1907 and 1917 following the death of her husband, George Granville William Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, the Third Duke of Sutherland.

Lady Mary was the duke's second wife and after he died she became embroiled in a legal dispute over his will with her stepson, the fourth Duke of Sutherland.

When the row was settled the duchess used her inheritance to have Carbisdale constructed.

The property is said to be haunted by a ghost called Betty.