structure, reaching the final stages of the competition. Although it did not win, its cause was later taken up by the Prince's Regeneration Trust, a charity founded by Prince Charles which promotes heritage-led regeneration schemes. Funds were sought for an £8 million scheme to restore the castle, however this scheme did not progress. Present use Kinloch Castle is now managed by Scottish Natural Heritage, supported by the Kinloch Castle Friends' Association, a registered charitable organisation set up in 1996. A number of repairs have been carried out in 2010 and 2011, although the long-term future of the building remains uncertain. Tours of the castle continue to be available, timed to coincide with ferries where possible. Highlights of the tour include the under-stairs orchestrion and a variety of gifts from the Emperor of Japan. A section at the rear of the castle was operated as a hostel for visitors to the island. Guests had a choice of bunk rooms, or could upgrade to one of a handful of "Oak Rooms" with four-poster beds. The hostel area was kept separate from the museum rooms of the castle. The hostel closed in 2015. In 2017 the Kinloch Castle Friends' Association began to examine the possibility of creation of a Community Interest Company to take over the running the Castle from SNH. In March 2018, the association decided to formally apply for an asset transfer of the castle and policies and to negotiate the transfer of the contents of the castle. The initial aim is to reopen the hostel accommodation in order to generate income to help to support the castle whilst external funding is sought for more major restoration work. In June 2022 it was reported that the castle had been acquired by businessman Jeremy Hosking, subject to the approval of a planning application for the restoration of the building and its conversion to visitor accommodation. Social significance A report conducted in 2002 by SNH summarised the social significance of Kinloch Castle and the diverging attitudes towards it as follows: Kinloch Castle has an extremely high social significance, as both a representative of a type of development and lifestyle which exerted considerable influence over land-use in Scotland, and also as associated with a very specific social history of interest in itself in terms of its glamour, its notoriety and the unusual "completeness" to which lifestyle evidence has survived. The report indicated that Kinloch