User:Rory4144/sandbox/Dunmor House Hotel 1970 - 1982

Dunmor House Hotel 1970 to 1982 Dunmore Farm near Easdale on the Isle of Seil near Oban, Argyll was purchased by retired naval commander Hugh Campbell-Gibson and his wife Deirdre in 1968. Hugh Campbell-Gibson was a keen amateur Gaelic speaker and one of his first tasks on purchasing the property was to remove the "e" from Dunmore to comply with the Gaelic spelling of the word Dun Mhor meaning "Big Fort". The next two years were spent converting the house into a small country hotel. An annexe was built which housed an additional 10 guest bedrooms, adding to those in the main house comprising 1 single and 3 doubles. Extensive renovations and improvements to the main house took place to prepare it for its new role.

The hotel was ready for opening by the spring of 1970 and the opening ceremony was performed by Mr. J. Rollo, deputy chairman of the Highlands and Islands Development Board on 15th May 1970.

Hugh and Deirdre Campbell-Gibson ran the hotel successfully for 11 years during which time they received guests from all over the world. Many returned for holidays on a yearly basis, attracted by the warm reception and sometimes quirky antics of the owners and the staff. Being of a Naval background, 'the Commander' as he was known ran the hotel with a discipline that many found amusing, some found worrying and others found strange. There were times when he had to be reminded that this was a place of rest and relaxation not a battleship in action. Humour and fun however was the basis on which life at Dunmor during the busy summer seasons existed with returning guests joining in with high spirits.

Deirdre was a very good cook and by only the 2nd season had gained an entry in the Good Food Guide where she continued to receive accolade until her final season in 1982. Some of the quotes from the Good Food Guide: 1971 "They provide good, honest, careful, loving cooking of an honest kind". 1972: "There is not much choice but Mrs Campbell-Gibson is a clever enough cook to keep long-stay guests happy with her soups, savoury first courses, beef olives, chicken provencale, soles, apple pancakes with apricot sauce and numerous other dishes. Her specialities are baked scallops, roast beef and yorkshire and hazelnut meringue gateau. Cream from their own cows." 1976: "Worth the long drive for a meal that included coquilles St. Jacques in a mushroom sauce, veal escalope biscayenne served with thinly sliced bolangere potatoes and fresh runner beans. The pipe-smoking Commander's quarter-deck air made one visitor feel like a newly joined midshipman, but most guests have found him affable."

In 1971 Bed and Breakfast at Dunmor House Hotel was £2 in a standard room. A room with a view of the sea was 6 shillings (30p) extra and a 3 course dinner was £1.12. 10 years later 1n 1982, Bed and Breakfast had risen to £11.50 and dinner £7.90.

Dunmor House Hotel was situated on a working hill farm and this was very much evident in the day to day activities. The Commander by day would perhaps be preparing invoices for guests' departures up until mid morning and by lunchtime may be seen shearing sheep across the driveway in the adjoining farmyard. Guests were encouraged to vacate the hotel during the day so that life on the farm could continue uninterrupted. If a stray non resident did turn up wanting lunch, there was a skeleton staff on duty to serve very simple soup and sandwiches and a drink but little else.

Staff were advertised for well in advance of the coming season each year in the Lady magazine. A high percentage of girls applied from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa and quite a number from the UK. Up to 10 staff members were needed in total which comprised 2/3 housekeepers, 4 waitresses, 2 assistant cooks and a barman. Sometimes a girl would enjoy the experience so much one year, she would return the next. Many found husbands amongst the locals and stayed to live their lives in the area.

During the years leading up to his death in 2008 at the age of 83, Campbell-Gibson wrote and published privately his memoirs "Besides the Sea". In it he chronicles various amusing anecdotes that occurred throughout the life of Dunmor House hotel with chapters on hill farming in Argyll, a career in the Royal Navy and creating and landscaping a coastal garden at Melfort where he lived.

In the preface he writes: ''"Besides the Sea is a lighthearted miscellany of various incidences and reminiscences associated with different periods of my life. As might be expected, the sea and the Royal Navy dominated much of the early years but I have tried to tell something of the other periods as well- with a little family history thrown in too.

''The chapters were written, mainly at random as I remembered the circumstances and then assembled in chronological order; so in this sense the book is autobiographical.

My working life has been divided into several parts - Naval officer, farmer, hotelier, forester - and during our long marriage I have been lucky to have had Deirdre's constant support in our joint ventures.

Throughout my life an enthusiasm for gardening and the countryside has been a continuous theme, coupled with a deep attachment to the land of my forebears in which we are fortunate to live.

 Hugh Campbell-Gibson ''Melfort 2007''

Deirdre Campbell-Gibson died on 16th December 2014