Competition is stiff but the rewards can be rather attractive for tenants of National Trust homes, writes Ben West
What could be more enticing than being able to live in a stunning historic home with beautiful grounds free of charge or at a very small rent? It is an option enjoyed by people all over the UK as tenants of the National Trust and the National Trust for Scotland.
A number of these homes have associations with famous people, so you could end up sleeping in poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge's bedroom, or cooking in Virginia Woolf's kitchen. The National Trust has a sizable waiting list for these homes, and when a tenancy comes up, the competition can be fierce.
To improve your chances of success, you should show some interest in the history of the building and any famous past tenant it may have had. You will need a good sense of responsibility, a love of old buildings and enough DIY knowledge to carry out minor repairs.
Strict conditions may be attached to your lease, for example pets, lodgers and smoking in the property are likely to be forbidden, any paint colours would have to be approved, and you may have to give written notice of holidays.
Those wanting double glazing, modern central heating systems and other mod cons may be disappointed, and families should note that the smaller properties have little storage room for toys and other paraphernalia. Garden equipment such as slides and swings may not be permitted.
Tenants of organisations concerned with building conservation - like the National Trust and the National Trust for Scotland - live in a wonderfully wide variety of properties, from tiny, cramped cottages to lodges, smallholdings, farms, mansions and castles.
While many properties owned by the National Trust and the National Trust for Scotland are open or partly open to the public and so, as a tenant, you would be sharing the property with lots of visitors, many other are not. Tenants can be custodial tenants of private homes - usually estate cottages - or live-in property managers.
Robert Lovie, 37, has lived at the National Trust for Scotland's Fyvie Castle, north west of Aberdeen, for the past seven years.
'My address raises an eyebrow or two, for sure,' says Robert. 'Being a tenant here is part of the job as property manager. The castle is one of Scotland's oldest, dating back to 1211, and has over 100 rooms. When the castle came to the Trust in 1984, I looked for suitable accommodation for the managers' apartment. I have two living rooms, a dining room and five bedrooms spread over three towers, which is all rather grand for a bachelor, but never mind! It is such a big apartment because the Trust decided it would be better this way than to block off part of the property. It is better for airing the property, too.
'There is no rent to pay: living here is counted as part of my salary. I used to have to drive for an hour to reach my office, and here I simply walk down the stairs. There is a wonderful collection of furniture here and portraits that are worth a lot, so part of the attraction for the Trust with me living here is the added security.
'The castle receives 35,000 visitors each year, so you hear visitors in the building all the time. You get used to it. But my apartment is at the top, so I can't enter and leave without interfacing with staff or meeting the public. It is like living above the shop, although as grand a shop as can be, in one of Scotland's oldest castles. Some of my predecessors did complain of the lack of privacy.
'It is ultimately a fantastic way of life, to live somewhere with 800 years of history. It can be very demanding at times, but these have probably been seven of the happiest years of my life.'
While becoming a full-time tenant of the National Trust or National Trust for Scotland is a serious undertaking, it is possible to sample the life for a couple of days at a time. Both Trusts offer unusual and beautiful self-catering holiday accommodation throughout the country, from castles to crofts, lodges to lighthouses, and country cottages to city apartments. You don't have to be a Trust member to book a holiday, and by booking you are contributing to their valuable conservation work.
The National Trust has more than 330 properties available for holiday lets throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland. They range from ?218 to ?2,322 a week, and short breaks are also available.
Properties offered by The National Trust for Scotland include apartments sleeping two at Stoer Head Lighthouse near Lochinver in the Highlands of Scotland (?280 to ?500 a week) and Harmony House, near Melrose in the Scottish borders, where 12 can be accommodated at a cost between ?1,000 and ?1,895. Again, short breaks are also available.
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