In 1603 James I and Bulmer devised a plan by which the search for gold in Scotland could be financed by making investors Knights of the Golden Mines. Objections by Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury to the bestowing of further knighthoods put an end to the scheme. Bulmer himself was knighted in 1604. With a free gift from the King of £100, together with a further royal grant of £200, Bulmer returned to Scotland to search for gold in the Lowther Hills. Lord Balmerino inspected the works he was running at Crawford Mure and those of George Bowes in June 1605. In 1606 the King granted him a lease of all gold and silver mines in Scotland, and he was later given further free gifts from the King of £100 in 1607 and £500 in 1608.