Historic Duffus House
This historic building, built in the late 1600’s, was home to the Dunbar’s of Northfield for over 250 years. Ed’s grandfather decided to move out of Duffus House in the 1935. The family subsequently leased the building to Gordonstoun school, for use as a boarding house, for 82 years. In August 2017 the house and Dunbar family entered a new phase when the lease to the school came to an end. Since then, we have been working behind the scenes, deliberating how best to give Duffus House a new lease of life.
Kula Camping
Given the rocketing costs post Covid, we have unfortunately had to park our original plans to redevelop Duffus House. We have since turned our attention to the land around the building instead. We have secured planning permission for a small, rustic campsite. The sheltered walled garden will house the 30 tent pitches. For those with tourers, there will be 20 pitches with hook ups. These will run along the top of the big field, next to the drive. All campers will be able to relax and explore the Estate, whilst enjoying the beautiful south facing views across the Laich of Moray, towards Duffus Castle.
The campsite reception will (hopefully) be housed within the foyer of Duffus House, enabling our campers to walk where Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh, once did as a boy boarding here.
Have a look at our Kula Camping page for the latest information.
Earthtime
Ed and I are passionate about supporting our local community. Earthtime is a local social enterprise. Ed has sat on their board since 2015 and in 2017 we invited them to launch their Outdoor Nursery and Forest School within the Duffus House grounds on the Estate. Earthtime now have designated outdoor space beside Duffus House and lease offices in one of the wings of the building.
Future Plans
We are not ones to rest on our laurels! There are always new ideas and plans to bring Duffus House back to life. We welcome local user groups onto the Estate, including Outfit Moray, a fantastic local charity. You can find out more about Outfit in our recent blog post.