This is why you should volunteer in a Scottish Castle
The history of Dunans Castle dates back to the 1500s.
Adventures in Preservation (AiP) offers volunteers a unique preservation experience in Scotland, at the Dunans Castle.
Dunans is an intriguing site in beautiful Argyll with a history dating back to the 1500s. Today, Dunans Castle Limited, a Social Enterprise, has a direct impact on helping reverse the declining economy of the community.
As long ago as 1590, cartographers noted a property on their maps called Dounens. This location became known as Dunans, and beginning around 1725, served as home to the Fletcher clan for over 200 years. Architect Andrew Kerr transformed the Dunans manor house into a mock castle in 1864. This unique and dramatic baronial house was largely destroyed by fire in 2001, leaving only the outer stone walls and the pre-Victorian west wing intact.
Even more significant than the “castle” is the A-listed Dunans Bridge, designed and built by Thomas Telford in 1815. Telford was one of Scotland’s greatest civil engineers and bridge builders. The arches, gargoyles and eight hexagonal piers, as well as its sheer height of 16 meters (52 feet), make it unique and of national importance.
When you help us save and preserve the Dunans Castle and Bridge, you help the economy and community in the area. Once work is completed, the castle will be public with event spaces on the ground floor and self-catering apartments in the upper two floors to provide a sustainable future.
The local community is both declining and aging, and Dunans currently provides jobs for 9 to 12 people, having a direct impact on the local economy. Castle and grounds also contribute to the tourist market, providing a yearly increase in revenue between 5–15%. AiP Jammers — what we call our passionate volunteers — meet many of the visitors as they cross the bridge to tour the castle grounds.
Also, the west of Scotland offers stunning coastal views with ferries providing easy access to the isles of the Hebrides. We’ll explore the Isle of Bute, visiting the remarkable home of the Stuarts, the fernery and more.
Two programs are available in 2021 at Dunans Castle:
About Adventures in Preservation (AiP)
Adventures in Preservation (AiP) is a non-profit connecting people and preservation through enriching cultural heritage travel and hands-on education. AiP was founded in 2001 by two women with a great love of historic buildings and a strong desire to travel and understand the world. While perusing the travel section of the Boulder Bookstore, the Volunteer Vacation section suddenly brought everything into focus. Judith Broeker and Jamie Donahoe combined their goal of saving historic buildings with the concept of experiential travel, and created AiP’s hands-on preservation vacations.
Work started on several sites in the U.S., and as word spread, requests for help began to pour in from around the world, underscoring the great potential of using volunteers to restore historic buildings. In supporting community-based preservation initiatives, we discovered that our love of old buildings could translate into environmental and economic sustainability for communities.
AiP is picking up the pace! As our hands-on experiential travel becomes more popular, we have new projects, new partners and initiatives to keep you excited and involved.
