A family have sold their house in England to live their Scottish dream – becoming owners of a rural pub in the Highlands.
Phillip Tunnard and his wife Janice spent two years trying to sell their home in Sheffield so they could purchase The Harbour Inn in Burghead. And on February 10, they signed on the dotted line to make their dreams come true.
Always knowing they wanted to retire in Scotland, having lived their whole lives in England, the couple initially planned on moving to Tain to see out their twilight years. However, a chance meeting with the pub owners changed their lives.
Phillip said: “The pub we visited had just been taken over and they didn’t have much experience at all so we just thought that we could actually do something very similar as a family. We started having a look around and we fell in love with Burghead straight away.
“We had a look at the pub and some of the views are just absolutely outstanding so we knew that this was the one for us.”
Discussions to buy The Harbour Inn started in 2023 but three failed attempts to purchase the family’s home in Sheffield delayed the takeover.
“We’ve persevered,” Phillip said.
“We were ready to move in this time last year and we had put a lot of our stuff up in storage in Elgin but then the deal collapsed. We left a few chairs and things like that down in England but we didn’t have a dining room table and things like that.
“So it’s been a long-drawn-out experience and we’re happy to finally get it done.”
When The Harbour Inn’s previous owners closed the business last year it left Burghead with no pubs after The Station Hotel had already done so in January. But discussions with residents prior to the takeover revealed a strong desire to reopen a pub in the town.
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“They were desperate to have a pub in the town again because obviously they used to have three,” Phillip said. “I think everybody felt like the heart and soul had kind of been ripped out of the place so we’ve managed to get the pub open.
“We’ve got a nice bunch of regulars who are coming in and then it will get busier with the tourist season as well. Hopefully over the next few weeks we’ll start serving food again and then also opening the letting rooms.
“We’ve been listening to what people want because we’ve sunk every single penny we’ve got into this so we’ve got to make it work and be in the heart of the community.”
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