At Benmore, it is the personal, human touch that truly sets the experience apart.
From the moment you arrive at Knock House, you will be welcomed by a team of housekeepers, stalkers, ghillies, skippers and boatmen who are deeply passionate about sharing this place with guests. With years of experience between them, often passed down through generations, our team live and breathe Benmore: its wildlife, its landscape and its rich heritage. Whatever your question, they will know the answer.
We asked our team four questions to introduce themselves:
What did you do before working at Benmore Estate?
Where is your favourite place and/or what is your most memorable event on Benmore Estate?
What would we find you doing in your spare time?
What’s the one experience that you always recommend to guests?
Find out their answers below!
Marcus Luckyn-Malone
Estate Manager
My family and I have recently returned to Scotland after many years living and working across the Middle East and Africa. Before that I spent 16 years as an infantry officer in the Royal Regiment of Scotland. I come from an Army family and moved around a lot growing up, but my happiest childhood memories were from the Isle of Skye — one of the reasons I jumped at the chance to come to Mull.
The hills here never disappoint. Climbing Ben More with my daughter early on and looking out across the Hebrides and mainland was a moment I won’t forget. Watching the sun set over Ulva from the shore of Loch na Keal runs it close.
In my spare time I am exploring the island and looking forward to sharing it with my wife. I am keen to improve my photography, and to get back into kayaking, sailing and mountain biking after years away.
My recommendation is to venture beyond the coast and into the remote glens. At the end of the tracks you will find pure wilderness, awe-inspiring in all weathers and a world away from the frenzy of modern life.
Donald Bisset
Head Stalker, Ghillie & Skipper of Benmore Lady
I grew up around Knock House and Benmore Estate, and have worked here full time since 2005. Along the way I have studied traditional boatbuilding, gamekeeping and wildlife management, and marine science — all of which come in useful on the water and the hill.
Some of my happiest memories are from right here: catching a 21lb salmon on Loch Ba as a child with my father and brother, and a trip aboard Benmore Lady to St Kilda where we spotted killer whales on the return journey. The hill in all seasons holds a special place too, whether stalking during the rut or spying on a quiet winter’s day.
In my spare time you will find me out on the water with Kim, visiting nearby cafes or west coast islands by boat on calm evenings. When the weather turns I retreat to the shed for knife making or long range target shooting.
Andrew Gorthy
Stalker, Ghillie & Skipper of Corra Bheinn
I was offered a work placement on Dalness Estate in Glen Etive while still at school in Edinburgh and stayed for ten years. It was a formative experience: running the salmon hatchery, extracting stags from steep ground using traditional Highland ponies, and studying gamekeeping at Barony and North Highland College. I moved to Benmore in 2009 and haven’t looked back.
If I could pick one spot on Mull, it would be the mast road on Torosay, where I can look out over the estate and back towards the old stalking ground I used to walk. It never gets old.
Away from the hill, Renata and I are kept busy by our two children, Angus and Holly, who are often seen around the estate. Family days out in Oban, a good crime novel and watching rugby and Formula 1 keep me going through the quieter months.
Charlie Stutchbury
Hatchery Manager, Ghillie
After studying Marine biology, I found myself in various roles including events and tree surgery before wheeling it back around to aquaculture and ecology here on the estate running the salmon hatchery programme.
My favourite place on the estate has to be Gorten Buie at the head of Loch Ba. With it’s ruins and dramatic connecting valleys it is spectacular. I also love the endless coniferous woodlands in the upper reaches of Glenforsa.
In my spare time you can will find me anywhere wild, ideally somewhere with snow. Usually I will be up a mountain, skiing or in the surf on weekends.
One thing I would recommend to guests would be to climb Benmore, the island’s only Munro. If you are able, preferably via the ridge route which includes some good scrambling routes to the summit!
Angus Youngson
Fishing Ghillie, Stalker
Before coming to Benmore I studied mechanical engineering and worked in the industry for several years, but fishing and stalking were always my real passion. A stint as a ghillie and stalker on the Isle of Harris gave me the grounding I needed, and I have been working on Scottish island estates ever since.
If I had to pick one spot on the estate it would be Glen Cannel. Walking the track in the evenings with my dog Sage, watching the light fade over that landscape, is the kind of thing that reminds me why I do this job.
My recommendation to any guest is to catch a salmon on the fly on the River Ba. It is a small river, which makes every take feel immediate and intense: the combination of skill, patience and that sudden burst of adrenaline when the line tightens is genuinely unforgettable.
In my spare time you will find me walking with Sage, watching the rugby, or down on the river having a cast. Simple things, but they never get old.
Max Kinder
Glenforsa Café and Farm Shop Manager
Before the Benmore Estate I was a chef working at the River Cafe restaurant in London. It was an intense but enormously stimulating experience working in a busy professional environment. A lot of the produce, particularly seafood and mushrooms, came from the surrounding waters and woodland of the West Coast of Scotland. Moving up to Mull feels like taking a step closer to the source of great ingredients.
In my spare time you will most likely find me fishing. And if not, cooking on a fire somewhere. Or cooking fish on a fire! In fact, my favourite place on the estate is on the River Ba, you can’t beat it, especially when the water is at the right height and there are fish in the river!
I think the best advice I would give guests would be to pick the right activity for that day. The weather plays such a big role in the experience that guests have and you’ve got to lean into it. If the water is up, go fishing and if the sun is out, get out to sea!
Sam Bailey
Maintenance Manager
Before I came to the estate I was a gardener and pen maker on the south coast of England. My speciality and passion is in amenity horticulture and I have always worked in or around the industry. In 2020 I managed to turn my wood working hobby into a small business producing ethical, low carbon pens and small furniture pieces.
My favourite spot on the estate has to be Loch Ba! You find yourself surrounded by incredible scenery and a huge variety of wildlife, it is a fabulous location and an incredible work place. My most memorable moment on the estate so far was catching my first trout on Loch Ba, on a warm evening with a fantastic sunset, it was brilliant!
In my spare time, I enjoy walking my dog, target practice on a sunny evening and getting out with my camera.
Wayne Hamilton
Estate Worker
I have lived on Mull for the best part of 28 years and before I began working at Benmore Estate, my previous job was caretaker of the Island of Inch Kenneth.
One of my favourite places on the estate is Loch na Keal. I particularly enjoy spending the day down there in winter when it can be a tad breezy!
My spare time is mostly taken up with doing up my house, which I bought with my partner last year.
Kimberley Bisset
Estate Secretary & Head Housekeeper
Before joining Benmore Estate I was studied Marine Science at SAMS, near Oban, where I met Donald, and graduated in June 2005 with a first class Honours degree. During the summer months I worked at Tiroran House Hotel and the Boathouse on Ulva.
I enjoy watching the mountains and waters on Ben More, on a calm day or during a winter’s storm, it is invigorating.
A huge passion of mine is horse riding and I also enjoy boating with Donald on our RIB exploring Mull and the west coast of Scotland. We have even made it to Ballycastle in Northern Ireland.
Renata Schmidtova
Housekeeper
Originally from Slovakia, I have travelled around the UK working in different places and doing different things including being an au pair, farm help, cooking and housekeeping on Scottish Estates and Hotels. I met Andrew while working in Dalness Lodge and we moved to Benmore Estate in 2009, where we started our family.
As a lover of the outdoors, I am delighted to have the opportunity to feed the wintering stags during the harsh Scottish winter months. They each have their own personalities and are amazing to watch so close by.
In my spare time you will find me on long walks with the family and our two dogs, relaxing on one of Mull’s beautiful beaches, upcycling furniture or attempting to learn Spanish.
Indi Radford
Head of Sales & Marketing
Benmore Estate has always been a large part of my life, but I might never have made the move here without first attending Ballymaloe Cookery School in Ireland. Being immersed in a farming, food and rural way of life – and of course meeting Max – taught me that you can create something remarkable from a remote location and inspired me to leave the city behind.
My favourite spot on the estate is the Bothy on Loch Ba. The sense of peace there is completely overpowering, and watching friends and family experience it for the first time never gets old. My most memorable adventures have always been out on the water though: exploring the wild west coast aboard Benmore Lady is what makes this place truly special.
In my spare time you will find me walking, chatting to friends, or barbecuing at a bothy. My favourite day is cycling to Ulva for lunch at the Boathouse – it is such a magical place!
