After
PROPERTY
HIRE MY HOME
@Delgatie T he fabulous 11th Century Delgatie Castle in Aberdeenshire is lovingly looked after by Joan Johnson, her daughter Melanie and a dedicated team of family, staff and volunteers.
Joan and Melanie have lived in Delgatie for nearly 40 years. Joan was Captain John Hay’s estate manager and she has continued as Trustee, along with Melanie, after Captain Hay’s death in 1997. Both are very passionate about the Castle; looking after it and honouring Captain Hay’s memory is a labour of love. “It consumes your life” said Joan, who had made a promise to Captain Hay before he died. As she explains: “he did me the honour of asking me if I would shuffle on when he shuffled off, and I’m doing that”. When Melanie saw the Channel 4 Programme Hire my Home on Facebook looking for ‘failing holiday lets’ to apply for their homes to be transformed by a leading designer, she convinced her Mum to apply. Joan applied in early 2020 hoping that the programme might be tempted by a Scottish Castle. By Aug 2020 they knew they had been successful.
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The Hire my Home team came in August to do the early survey and then arrived back at
Delgatie in October for the makeover, which took two weeks. The programme has two leading designers who go up against each other with two properties from the same area and have to transform them. The one that increases their bookings potential wins.
