Stair Estates
300 years of heritage. A business focused firmly on the future.
Work With Stair Estates
About Stair Estates
Set in the remarkable landscape of southwest Scotland, close to Stranraer, Stair Estates brings together more than 300 years of heritage with the demands and opportunities of running a diverse modern rural business. The current Earl and Countess of Stair continue to play an active role in managing the Estate from their family home at Lochinch Castle.
Today, the Estate encompasses much more than its historic landscape. Its activities span tourism, farming and land management, forestry and renewable energy, residential and commercial property, hospitality and local journalism, with each part contributing to the long-term stewardship of the Estate and the communities around it.
At its heart is a straightforward ambition: to preserve what makes this part of Scotland special while continuing to invest in its future. That can mean maintaining important landscapes and buildings, supporting homes and livelihoods, welcoming visitors or developing sustainable commercial activities.
It makes Stair Estates an unusual organisation, combining heritage and commercial enterprise with a genuine, long-standing connection to the people and places of Dumfries and Galloway.
What Stair Estates Does
There are few businesses where the working day can connect farming, forestry, tourism, property, renewable energy and a local newspaper. That diversity is what makes Stair Estates different.
Land management remains central to the Estate, through its own farming operation and tenanted farms, alongside forestry and alternative energy. Stair Estates also manages a significant portfolio of farms, homes and commercial properties and is an important provider of affordable rural housing around Stranraer.
Tourism brings another dimension. The 75-acre Castle Kennedy Gardens is one of Scotland's most important historic landscaped gardens, while the wider Lochinch Heritage Estate offers holiday accommodation, walking, wildlife, country activities and events that enable visitors to experience the Estate throughout the year.
The organisation's roots in the local community extend further through the Stranraer and Wigtownshire Free Press. Established in 1843, the independent weekly newspaper continues to serve communities across this corner of southwest Scotland.
The common thread is stewardship: managing diverse businesses successfully today while protecting the land, heritage and assets entrusted to the Estate for generations to come.
Why Work With Stair Estates
A career with Stair Estates offers something genuinely different.
This is a working Estate and a diverse commercial organisation, but it is also home to landscapes, buildings and businesses that form an important part of southwest Scotland's heritage and its local communities. Joining the team means having the opportunity to contribute to both.
The breadth of the organisation creates an environment where people can work alongside colleagues with very different areas of expertise, from farming, forestry and property to horticulture, visitor experiences, hospitality and journalism. The existing Eden Scott material describes a close-knit team with a strong knowledge of and passion for the Estate and local community.
And it is difficult to imagine a more distinctive setting. Lochinch Heritage Estate stretches across farmland, forests and lochs, with the historic Castle Kennedy Gardens at its heart.
For someone who values variety, collaboration and seeing the tangible impact of their work, Stair Estates offers the chance to help care for an extraordinary legacy while playing a part in its future.
