Advertisement
An established hostel with stunning views set in the popular tourist location of Kishorn, Strathcarron.
Prominently positioned 16-bed hostel on NC500 offering guest dining and kitchen facilities.
Private and comfortable single bedroom owner’s accommodation with office / living space.
Extensive grounds spread over approximately 0.5 acres offering future development potential.
Recent developments have significantly increased hostel capacity offering great opportunities for the future business.
Freehold
OWNERS’ ACCOMMODATION
The current owners historically traded by using the office / bedroom on the ground floor and a bed room on the 1st floor as their area, allowing guests access to the living room / dining room. Should the new owners require more space they could live in the existing house and rent out the rooms in the new building, thus facilitating a work / life style trading model.
There is little doubt that the Lochcarron community area of the Highlands is one of the most beautiful and easily accessed wilderness areas on the west coast of Scotland. The village of Kishorn is on the NC 500 route which is 500 miles of the best scenery the North Coast has to offer; the route passes directly in front of the bunk house which brings in plenty of passing trade and individuals undertaking the route as a spine for their hill walking tour of the highlands.
The excellent range of hill and coastal walks entices a wide range of outdoor enthusiasts. Likewise, the many lochs and rivers encourage a range of watersports and sailing. The area is also renowned for its wealth of field sports and both loch and sea fishing. The village of Kishorn has a small gift/art shop with a fuller selection of services available locally in the village of Lochcarron. The village is located on the A896 and the Sanachan Bunkhouse has a prominent and well-signed posted location.
Kishorn is an excellent base from which to explore the beautiful west coast, including the Isle of Skye. Such is the setting that most of the wildlife for which Scotland is well known is right on the doorstep. Herds of wild deer are abundant in the neighbouring hills, sharing their habitat with the fox, grouse, golden eagle, raven and peregrine falcon amongst others. In the local waters are Atlantic salmon and numerous seabirds can be seen.
The area is certainly rich in wildlife and ornithology. The village is on the popular route from Kinlochewe to Loch Carron which is main route to Torridon and Applecross; the latter was made famous through the “Monty Halls Great Escape” television programme and is renowned for its wonderful marine life and for having the highest continuous road pass in the UK, the Bealach na Ba. Touring and genealogy are other favourite pastimes together with the opportunity to visit nearby Scottish Castles and historic sites. North of Kishorn is the beautiful village of Shieldaig with its ancient pines and sea loch and beyond that the impressive range of the ancient sandstone mountains of Torridon. Inverness is very much the commercial, social and business centre for the Highlands of Scotland located about 75 miles away. Inverness also has excellent public transport links with good bus, rail and air connections.
Primary schooling is provided in Lochcarron as well as a thriving playgroup. Secondary Education is in either Plockton which is only a 40-minute bus ride away, or some elect to attend Gairloch Secondary School, both having excellent reputations. On the sporting side amongst other local community groups, there is a golf club, bowling club and sailing club. There is also a local dental practice, medical centre, post office a choice of shops and a train station at Strathcarron.
DESCRIPTION
Sanachan Bunkhouse is an established and profitable business set within the popular tourist destination of Kishorn. The sale represents a sale of assets and goodwill. Sanachan Bunkhouse is ideally situated on the extremely popular North Coast 500 (NC 500) route and therefore well positioned to pick up significant levels of trade during the tourist season. The business offers budget accommodation which is extremely clean and well presented. Recent upgrades mean the current accommodation will be extended to 16 beds shortly, nearly trebling the number of beds currently available.
The business is spread between an existing attractive 1880’s stone house and a brand new high-quality timber building.
This sale offers a rare opportunity to purchase a respected and well-established business, which has the potential for further business development.
TRADE
The business has recently developed the new building and is currently finalising the building warrant completion, which is expected imminently. As a result, this new facility has not yet been used in the business. Whilst already trading profitably, the introduction of a further 10 beds to a total of 16, provides an exciting opportunity for new owners to significantly enhance the turnover and profitability of the business.
THE PROPERTY
Sanachan Bunkhouse is a business set over 2 buildings with the part of the existing house being devoted to owners’ accommodation. An attractive brand new timber building has been recently completed with a view to increasing the capacity of the bunkhouse. Currently the building has capacity to take more than the number of 16 people mentioned above. By increasing parking it would be possible to increase the number of beds to full capacity as listed below
Existing House
The delightful original building is of stone construction with a slate roof. The structure is single glazed throughout. This traditional property offers clean serviceable bedrooms with great hot showers. This building is heated using an LPG boiler, fed from an LPG tank in the grounds. The building is configured as follows:
• Lobby / Utility Area
• Kitchen
• Living room / dining room
• WC under stair
• Office / bedroom part of the current owner’s accommodation
• Existing Room 1 (RHS from top of stair) – Historically used as part of the owner’s accommodation, but could trade as 2 x Bunks and a single bed, could sleep 5 people
• Existing Room 2 (LHS from top of stair) - 3 x Bunks, could sleep 6 people
• Shared bathroom / shower room and WC
New Building
This attractive new building is of timber construction with a felt shingle roof. The structure is double glazed throughout. The property offers freshly decorated well designed bedrooms also with great hot showers. This building is heated using an air source heat pump. The building is configured as follows:
• New Room 1 - 3 x Bunks, Sleeps 6 people
• New Room 2 - 1 x Bunks, Sleeps 2 people
• New Room 3 - 2 x Bunks, Sleeps 4 people
• Lounge / Dining / Kitchen
• Accessible Shower / WC
• Shower / WC
The owners have had building control out to sign off the building and have been told that they now just need to submit the completion certificate, this is currently in progress.
GROUNDS
The lovely grounds are mostly laid to grass with a number of mature trees and shrubs. A tarred drive provides access to the house and parking. Parking areas are finished with loose stones. The grounds are attractive, easy to maintain and in keeping with the country side environment. To the right of the drive there is a useful rustic barbeque area for guests use. To the rear of the property there is a shed which is currently used for the storage of equipment. There is a further shed behind the new building, which contains the heat pump thermal stores, pumps and controls.
WEBSITE
All business aspects are represented well on https://www.ourscottishadventure.com/ and is visible on social media channels including Facebook, and advertised on AirBnB and Independent hostels.
SERVICES
The property has mains electricity, water and drainage is licensed under the fire regulations. Wi-Fi is available to guests.
DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES
This sale represents a significant number of opportunities to develop the current business, some of which are noted below:
• Bike hire run from the property
• Canoe hire run from the property
• Provide guided walking tours
• Extension of the current bunkhouse provision
• Extend parking to increase bed numbers
This list is not exhaustive and any adjustment would need to be verified by the potential buyer as allowable by the statutory authorities.
It is the current owners desire to move on to new business ventures nearer their family in England.
