Mingary Castle Kilchoan – West Scotland
Mingary Castle was a dilapidated castle on the west coast of Scotland in the Ardnamurchan Peninsula. It was originally built in the 1300s but had been left to ruin. In 2016, the castle saw the end of it’s three year refurbishment project, meaning guests were finally allowed to enter the site for dining and overnight stays.
About
Mingary Castle, Scotland
Our first priority when starting this project was to build an external scaffolding structure to encase the entire castle. The external scaffolding was used to make the castle fully accessible to carry out the renovations, with a staircase and a huge loading area for storing and sorting stone. To dispose of the unwanted debris from the construction, we also added a rubble chute.
One major issue we encountered during the project was the tide and the weather. Mingary Castle is located by the coast in Scotland, so we had to ensure that the scaffolding was fixed into the bedrock securely. It was essential for the scaffolding to be strong enough to withstand anything the sea threw at it. The scaffolding was planned to be in place for three years, so it also had to withstand the challenging weather.
Once we had reached the summit of the rock face, we were then faced with the challenge of stepping the scaffolding in. We eventually passed the top of the rock face, which meant we were no longer allowed to add more ties to the actual castle, including butting the tubes against it. We created pressure pads using pieces of scaffolding boards and base plates, to prevent movement, and support the scaffolds.