The First Time He Saw Castle Tioram, He Almost Flew a Helicopter Into It. Now This Ex-Raf Pilot Says He's Fighting to Save the Highland Landmark. So Who Is Lex Brown, and Why Is There Such Hostility to His (Pounds) 4.5 Million Plans?

The Herald › November 13, 2004

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Summary

Lex Brown shouts down my mobile as I reach the grassy car park at the Arisaig Highland Games, held at Traigh Farm. "You can't miss me," he booms, "I'm wearing a brown kilt and beret. I'm in the Clanranald tent." I park the car and hoof it past some dancers and kilted behemoths competing in various tough man challenges. Finally, I catch sight of him and find him in a welcoming mood. Brown, owner of Castle Tioram, the 13th-century Highland home of Clanranald, on Moidart, has been variously described to me by individuals opposed to his ambitious (pounds) 4.5m restoration plans for the medieval fortress as someone "overwhelmed by his own sense of majesty", "a debunker and spoofer", a man who "has risen without trace" and a "complete enigma". Since his synthesis of commerce and soldiering skills (he is a decorated ex-RAF pilot) led him to purchase the building once acclaimed by Winston Churchill as the second most beautiful place on earth - surpassed only by the great lakes of Africa - Brown has been plagued by unpleasant rumour and innuendo.

Described by one of his former colleagues as someone "who lives life in the fast lane as if he is still flying a helicopter at 180 mph", in the flesh he is so effortlessly charismatic that any previous criticism instantly diminishes. He could charm the birds from the trees. Today Brown has, by his own admission, been partaking rather generously of the hospitality. There's a case to be made for joining him but, given that I have another hour's drive ahead of me to the castle that has been at the centre of a seven- year dispute between Brown and the heritage body Historic Scotland, I decline. Meanwhile Brown is holding court, looking somewhat resplendent alongside his wife, Frances, 37, almost 20 years his junior. A lawyer from London, she married him six days previously, following an engagement lasting more than 15 months.

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Extract

The First Time He Saw Castle Tioram, He Almost Flew a Helicopter Into It. Now This Ex-Raf Pilot Says He's Fighting to Save the Highland Landmark. So Who Is Lex Brown, and Why Is There Such Hostility to His (Pounds) 4.5 Million Plans?

After a little chinwagging with a few tartan- festooned Americans and Ranald Macdonald of Clanranald, the 25th chief and captain of Clanranald, who is head of five million clan members worldwide, Brown sighs and laments the "bureaucratic idiocy" that has seen his project stall in the seven years since he purchased the castle, with its spectacular views across Loch Moidart, for (pounds) 300,000. It was put up for sale in 1997 for (pounds) 100,000 by its former owner, Wiseman Macdonald from California, who bought it in the 1920s. So far Brown has spent around (pounds) 2m on his medieval money pit - on lawyers, architects and surveyors' fees - despite being unable to do any work on the castle, which has deteriorated significantly in the meantime.

His plans to meticulously restore the building with virtually complete fidelity to its past were backed by Highland Council, but Historic Scotland has objected to the granting of scheduled monument consent...

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