Along the dramatic shores of Loch Tay, history had begun to forget about the crumbling Taymouth Castle. Once a marvel of Victorian design, the Perthshire edifice was fading away – as were the fortunes of its owners, one of Scotland’s most powerful families.

But a US tequila tycoon – and friend of Hollywood star George Clooney – has finished one of Britain’s most expensive restorations, pouring £100million into returning the splendour of the neo-Gothic masterpiece.

Michael Meldman, who co-founded Casamigos tequila with Clooney, has renovated the breathtaking castle to how ‘it looked in 1842 when Queen Victoria came to visit’.

The crumbling former seat of Clan Campbell, which was sold off by the last of the Campbells of Breadalbane in 1922 due to gambling debts, has been passed through the hands of several owners. 

But their hopes and visions have been repeatedly overwhelmed by the demands of the property.

Mr Meldman took on Taymouth when he added it to his Discovery Land Company (DLC) global portfolio of holiday villages in 2019. 

American entrepreneur John Paul DeJoria, pictured below with his wife Eloise, joined DLC investors in the bid to protect the castle.

Artisans have spent three years working on it, with the drip-catching buckets and boarded-up windows of the recent past disappearing as serious money flowed into the Category-A listed building.

Brian McEwan, director of member services and experience at Taymouth Castle, said: ‘DLC have been keen that the restoration has been done by experts in their fields, so we are restoring it to what it would have looked like in 1842 at the time when Queen Victoria came to visit.’

The grand hallway alone needed ten months and 30 gallons of paint to cover the 80ft high walls. Mr McEwan said: ‘When you look up there, it almost reminds you of a cathedral. When DLC took custodianship, it was black and mouldy and the paint was chipping off the walls and falling in. There was so much water ingress.’

A badly damaged hand-painted ceiling in the drawing room which features knights and nobles of the clan was also restored in the nick of time.

Mr McEwan added: ‘There was so much damage in that room that we were able to repair. Who could say, but another couple of winters with more water coming into the room and the ceiling could have collapsed.’

Built by John Campbell, 1st Marquess of Breadalbane to rival Inveraray Castle, much of Taymouth’s finery was added ahead of Queen Victoria’s celebrated visit.

There are now nine new suites in the castle, where a maximum of 18 guests can stay. Around 145 holiday homes are planned for land surrounding the castle and the upgraded James Braid-designed golf course.

Mr McEwan added: ‘For the castle’s future, having ownership across a membership base secures it for the next hundreds of years.

‘If I was a billionaire and wanted to buy a

castle in Scotland, by the time it got to my grandkids they wouldn’t be able to afford the running of the estate. Having this shared ownership to look after and guard a building like this means that it can look after itself.’

DLC has, however, come under fire from some locals, with campaign group Protect Loch Tay saying: ‘We don’t need an influx of American millionaires and their speedboats, water sports and helicopter taxis destroying our peaceful loch.’