When Sam and Perlin Dobson, who owned a property development business in Nottingham, were on their honeymoon they came across an advert for a Highland Castle for sale in the local newspaper. At first it was only a fantasy but as time went by and the more they looked into it, they realised that the asking price of half a million pounds was in fact a price they could, with a lot of hard work, raise between themselves and the rest of their family.

Though there were many bidders for the castle it was the Dobson family who succeeded in winning through.
In 2003 they moved from the Midlands to their new home - the historic Duncraig Castle on the shores of Loch Carron. The castle had seen better times... previously it was a Domestic Science College and most recently a home to the crew on the popular BBC tv series Hamish Macbeth. Such was the interest in the story of the family that a documentary team filmed their experiences in the "fly on the wall" style which is still being shown around the world today as "The Dobsons of Duncraig".

The family (or more correctly, "families") bought a 29 bedroom castle which included reception rooms, commercial sized kitchens, a minstrel gallery and even turret rooms in a tower, not to mention an ancient boiler system and acres of highland weathered roofing.

The Dobson Families are best described as four brothers (one is actually a brother in law) and their partners and children. Oh and Mum and Dad Dobson for good measure. All in all some 17 people moved over 500 miles from Leicester and Nottingham, a 12 hour journey that involved a fleet of moving vans.

Just so you know who's who ...

• Alan and Sybil Dobson: Granny and Grandad
• Sam, Perlin & Amelia: Son, wife and child
• Greg, Elfine, Gabriel, Fergus & Rowan: Son, partner and children. They now have another baby.
• Duncan, Lorain, George & Elizabeth: Son, partner and children
• Lisa, Brian and Megan: Daughter, husband and child

In the beginning Sam and Perlin intended to do most of the work themselves. The brothers Sam, Greg and Duncan along with brother in law Brian and dad Alan were all good with their hands and had much experience between them. However the scale of things was almost overpowering : 15 bathrooms, no central heating or hot water, sub-standard roofing and the chill of the Highland winter closing in....it was a cold winter for the whole family who in the end camped in some of the middle sized rooms modeled as self catering apartments. They all worked constantly and as Spring came the weather eased and so did some of the tensions built up through the long winter.

On the positive side, the children loved living in a real castle with their cousins and grandparents. The freedom and fresh air was a real tonic for them. They could run around inside and out (even on their own private beach!) The adults, too, loved the "sound of silence" as they became used to the lack of traffic and the purity of the highland air.

But there were doubts... Perlin thought they would never complete the renovations and Sam's brother Greg wasn't so sure that the family living situation would work. However his wife Elphine approved of the fact that the kids spent eight hours a day outside playing rather than on a Playstation or watching tv.

In the end there was no escaping the fact that renovations will cost 600,000 pounds and entail constant work by the family members for years to come. The trouble stems from the fact that the building had stood empty for twelve years with virtually no maintenance and all the ensuing problems that entails. Their total responsibility extends to two and a half kilometers of coastline, a couple of islands, forty acres of land, a laundry building, a cottage in Duncraig Square, a chapel and last but not least ... a castle.

In the end though, it was the family living together under one roof that proved more of a challenge than the castle. They had all sunk EVERY PENNY into Duncraig Castle and were totally committed to making the venture work even when everyone and everything seemed to work against them. "There is no going back" each family member has said at some point during the project.

The Dobsons of Duncraig continues with Sam, Perlin, daughter Amelia , Mum and Dad continuing to live in the castle. As seen in the series, Duncan and Lorraine have returned to Nottingham. Greg and Elfine are a few miles away - still teaching but also embracing the life of crofting.
Lisa and Brian have moved into Plockton.

Happily, Sam and Perlin have made a success of their dream and it is finally becoming a reality as the castle is now functional with house guests and film companies hiring the castle as a location. They are in fact living their dream.