A pensioner couple facing imminent eviction from the Highland cottage they rented for many years from one of Scotland’s richest women have found a bigger, brighter and better home just down the road – in the nick of time.
Jimmy and Lillie Bryan were heartbroken a few months ago when they learned that transport tycoon Ann Gloag had given them notice to leave their century-old Mid Cottage home on her Beaufort Estate near Beauly.
She wanted the property vacant to allow contractors in to modernise it and the three-month notice period was about to expire.
The couple have just found sanctuary at a refurbished, three-bedroomed bungalow at neighbouring Beaufort Home Farm, just 200 yards away – and are jubilant about the outcome.
Back in March, the couple told how they had “felt sick” when the received the eviction letter from one of Ms Gloag’s representatives.
They ended up seeking help from the Citizens Advice Bureau and Highland Council’s housing department as they sought refuge.
Ms Gloag, who co-founded the Stagecoach Group with her brother Brian Souter, declined to comment.
Yesterday, Jimmy Bryan, 72, who had a triple heart bypass 11 years ago, said:’m a very happy man. The (Lovat) estate has done a great job. It’s all insulated, double-glazed, the lot. So it’s a far superior house.
“After 40 years, I’ll miss the old place, but there was no way we could stay there with that lady up at the castle.
“We wanted out of there as soon as possible when this one came up.”
His wife of 16 years, Lillie, 75, added: “We’re very happy – it’s bigger and better. We’re just getting settled in.”
The couple have nine children from previous marriages. They said they had happily paid an affordable rent since Mr Bryan’s retirement. An initial monthly rent of £200 had steadily risen to £325.
Mr Bryan worked as a joiner for Lovat Estates for 38 years before packing up work seven years ago.
News of their plight surfaced on a social networking site in March.
At first, the couple were unhappy that Mr Bryan’s daughter Julie Munro, who stays in Inverness, had vented her anger about the eviction notice online, but it prompted a tide of public support.
The Bryans’ own response was to erect signs outside Mid Cottage, stating they were being “Evicted by Ann Gloag”.
Various similar properties on the estate have been renovated and subsequently let as holiday accommodation.