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Banjo and Ros Grand Island Hotel - Season 1 - Episode 01: Home
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00:0217 miles off Scotland's west coast lies the island of Mull and off the coast of Mull lies
00:08the much smaller island of Ulver. Seven miles long and two miles wide there are no roads instead a
00:16maze of footpaths accessible only by ferry from Mull. Once home to over 800 people today just 16
00:26remain outnumbered by an abundance of wildlife. At the centre of the island stands Ulver House
00:35an enchanting yet abandoned stately home waiting for something or someone to save it.
00:48Today two intrepid Australians have arrived determined to bring Ulver House back to life.
01:09They have left their former lives on Mull to pour their hearts and life savings into restoring it
01:16to its former glory. Our vision for this is to be the grandest little hotel in the Hebrides.
01:28Do you think that mould will just wash off? Strace.
01:43We're home. We're home. Do you love it? Yes! I love it.
01:52This is the lobby of our hotel. Is that not wild? Yeah it is. We've taken a massive punt. We've
02:00put
02:00everything on the line to do it because we kind of believe that we can turn this into something
02:07special. The alternative is that we're in an office doing nine to five and we know we don't want to
02:12do
02:12that. Inside 27 rooms lie locked in a quiet war between grandeur and decay. There's holes in the roof,
02:21there's holes in the ceiling and there's no water, no power, no heating. Every inch of the house is
02:28covered in something. But believe in the destination. I do believe in the destination,
02:33so just jump on. Buckle up. It's gonna be a ride. Years of neglect have left this listed masterpiece
02:42in a state of significant disrepair. Banjo and Roll will need to simultaneously restore the
02:49crumbling structure of the building alongside orchestrating a grand interior. The library.
02:55Mmm. Smell that. Dan. But also books and this room when a guest walks in needs to feel expensive. Now
03:04it feels dank. The drawing room will be transformed into an exotic orangery. So this room I love. It's a
03:12showstopper isn't it? Oh my. Wow. Oh my gosh. There is mold growing everywhere. On the other side of the
03:22building, the beating heart of the house. We'll have our farmhouse kitchen, our salamaria charcuterie.
03:28And I've always wanted to do cured meats. Upstairs, the luxurious guest bedrooms. We'll get rid of the
03:34dead bird. Yeah. And ensuite bathroom. This room is listed. For what? Demolition? We'll have a spa
03:43where you can get a seaweed wrap. Like that's amazing. This is doing my hardest. The plan is
03:49to transform six key areas in a push to get the hotel operational before winter. It's going to be
03:57decadent. It's giving opulence. It's giving grandeur. The fires will be roaring. The bedrooms are
04:04sumptuous and warm. And there I am ready to greet them. Welcome to the Grand Island Hotel.
04:18That is crumbling before ours. Sinking our money into this building, trying to save it,
04:23trying to etch a living out of it. It's an unusual way to invest your money. And then like at
04:28the end
04:28of the day, you know, this isn't even a house either. We'll never own this. In 2018, the island
04:36made history. Backed by the Scottish Land Fund, the people of Mull and Alda came together to buy the
04:43island, ending centuries of private ownership. Their mission was bold, to breathe life back into
04:49the island and to shape their own future. Now the island and its properties are run by a charitable
04:55trust on Mull. On the board, there are six people. We've got some crofters. We've got some business
05:05people. And we've got some retired people. That's me. Banjo and Ro have got other house on a rent and
05:12repair lease. So they don't pay any rent while they're doing the work. Wait, we're not going to
05:18own this house. We're renting it off the board. So this is like the world's biggest rent-o-vation.
05:25Yeah. I think it's a risk, but the reward is too great not to try.
05:29Since the community buyout, Banjo and Ro have been the only souls daring enough to tackle this
05:36formidable restoration. For seven years, the locals have observed Ulva House slowly rot,
05:42powerless to intervene.
05:50My name's Rudy. I'm the ferryman on the Isle of Ulva, and I've lived here most of my life. To
05:55see it
05:56laid empty for so long has been a bit upsetting to see. And from what I can see, Banjo and
06:02Ro have
06:03enough energy to take it on. So I'm really pleased for them. The Trust had professional surveys done
06:10to renovate the house, and the quotation was Ā£2 million. We've got Ā£150,000 of our own money.
06:18That's to live on, to invest in this place. Oh, wow. Yeah.
06:27Actually, no, I changed my mind. I do think they're mental with that kind of money. Yeah. Good luck to
06:32them.
06:33It's a massive job to take on for anybody, and you have to be mad to think you can do
06:38it.
06:41There's beyond no going back once this is signed. It's a legal document binding us to the
06:47responsibility of that house for the next 25 years. We're leasing the building for a reasonable price,
06:55because we're going to be investing our own money into repairing that building.
06:58In addition to that, once we have an established business, a percentage of the profit that we make
07:03will then also go back to the trust, which will then in turn go back to the iron.
07:07But I didn't know we had to repair the roof. Of course we're going to repair the roof.
07:11Replace all the chimney flushing. Yeah.
07:14Have you looked into septic tanks? How much they are? No, I haven't. Have you?
07:19Husband. Oh my gosh. Please.
07:26It's all a sign, bro. Okay, stop. I can't. I can't.
07:32It's a lot. It is a lot. It's a bit scary. But we can look after it. We can be
07:36custodians of it.
07:38And then it can hand over to someone else. That's history. And I think that's important. I think it's
07:42a great thing that we're a part of. Yeah. It's going to be okay. It's good. It's great. It's great.
07:51It's great. It's good. I love you. I love you too.
07:58With the paperwork signed, Banjo and Ro can move in and the work can officially begin.
08:04In a house with no heating, water or electrics, they've prioritised the library.
08:13It's the kind of room that I've always dreamed of. This is going to be magic.
08:19Yeah, no, I think we should keep it simple.
08:20No. Like imagine if Michelangelo's boss said, you know what, let's dial the vision back a bit.
08:28I bet he didn't have a supportive partner either. But honestly, are you not there? Imagine
08:34whiskey lit up and then a gorgeous big bar, statement green marble top.
08:40Okay, I do like green marble. I know you love green marble.
08:42Yeah, yeah. That's why you put that in there.
08:44The library will be reborn in high gloss black, set against an earthy green lime wash on the walls.
08:52At its heart, a bold, unapologetically theatrical bar. Around it, mohair armchairs and vintage
08:59furnishings will create a room where guests will lose track of time and perhaps themselves over a wee dram.
09:07The Whiskey Library.
09:08I want to put a high gloss lacquer finish on it. So it's almost like a mirror. I'm talking shiny.
09:17The only thing is if you do that high gloss, like gloss shows up everything because it's all bubbled and
09:23blistered.
09:24Yeah. So you will need to send that back to nothing. So this can't have a speck of dust or
09:31any bumps.
09:32So to put the high gloss on, it needs to be like day one new. There's a lot. And that's
09:38before
09:38I've even added all my furniture. I need to pick fabric. I need to reupholster all my lounges.
09:45I think we do have actually quite clear and defined roles. I'm going to be head of manual labor and
09:50building and construction, waste management, electricity, water. I'm the chief imagination officer.
10:00Yeah. While the plan is to transform rooms one by one over the next few months, the urgent structural
10:10issues with the house must also be resolved. It might be summer now, but winter is coming.
10:17There is an urgency to it because the reality is it's about to get harsh and it's almost going to
10:21come to
10:21grinding hole. The insurance will be crippling that if we can't get this house wind and watertight.
10:28Bottom line is the house needs to be wind and watertight by winter.
10:34To make all the house wind watertight and habitable, Banjo and Roe must tackle the essentials.
10:41They must repair the roof and replace any rotten windows, install a working plumbing system to
10:48reinstate running water and rewire the entire house. Their first task is the electrics. And luckily,
10:57the island has its own resident electrician. Who's also a local deerstoker.
11:08Everything in the house will get wired back to here. Yep. And this will be the main hub.
11:12Okay. Heating electrics gives you a proper plant room to function.
11:15I don't want to put you on the spot. How long Jack and the job will take?
11:19For the ground floor? Yeah. But even if it's not... Oh, yeah.
11:24Okay. Four weeks. Why? For the ground floor.
11:28Like, I saw some money fly out the window. Yeah, yeah. Well, definitely flying out the window.
11:38It's cold. It's just cold at night, though. That wind is howling through those walls and windows.
11:47Now might be a good time to talk about the budget. Like thereof.
11:53I think it's kind of going up in smoke. We're kind of hemorrhaging money. We want to get,
11:59you know, the baseline stuff done, but that's all hidden. And then by the time, you know,
12:05it comes to make it look nice, you've got no money. We have to be so careful with every penny
12:11that
12:12flies out the door. Yeah. And I've bought a couple of new shirts. A couple of new shirts?
12:19Well, I can't be walking around naked. Everything that we can possibly do ourselves
12:26needs to be done ourselves. If we don't get this where it needs to be
12:30to be able to start generating some sort of income, it's a dead end. It's a bloody scary thought.
12:40Definitely no more new shirts.
12:49Yeah.
12:50Bange wants some sort of like glazy, polishy finish on this that's going to make it really,
12:53really shiny. Problem with that is any imperfections in the wood is going to show up. So the wood has
12:59to be smooth as glass. We're going to sand all of this down because we don't have power at the
13:03moment.
13:04We're limited in how we do it. So I've got like old school hand sand, or I've got paint stripper.
13:11So I'm going to test both and see which works. Safety first.
13:22Whatever this lacquer was that was previously on it has like split and crackled, but it's quite
13:26thick. And what I don't want to do is sand the wood because I'm going to end up with these
13:30pockets
13:30and these divots. I'm going to try the paint stripper. I've never used it before.
13:34Yada, yada, yada. Apply a generous coat onto the surface.
13:45Okay. It's been about an hour. I don't know. It looks like it's changed colour,
13:48so I'm hoping that that's because it's come off. Okay. Oh my God. Are you joking?
14:00That's bloody amazing. That's a game changer. I definitely didn't buy enough. Like that didn't.
14:08Yeah.
14:12Originally built as the seat of the Laird, the head of the Macquarie clan who once owned the island,
14:18Ulver House has been rebuilt over the centuries, and its constant presence has become a defining
14:24landmark linking the island's past and future. For a wee island, Ulver has a whole lot of history,
14:31and I really want to get a sense of that. I've invited the local mime artist, historian,
14:37and podcaster, Alistair, and his sidekick, Andrina, to record a little episode of their podcast.
14:44The aim of this episode is to explore the context and history of Ulver in relation to kind of the
14:49world around it. Were there any significant visitors that were associated with the Isle of Ulver at all?
14:53Well, yes, of course. Queen Victoria came here in the 1840s. Captain Cook, he discovered Australia,
15:00and then we've got Sir Walter Scott, and he did a lot of sailing around here. Well, of course,
15:05the island was the stronghold of the Macquaries. So Lachlan Macquarie, born here in Ulver in the late
15:111700s, goes to Australia and is now regarded as the founding father of the country.
15:20It's just crazy. Like, Lachlan Macquarie set up my hometown in Australia.
15:29And he came back in disgrace. Well, I mean, he did lose his money, loved to drink and married his
15:37cousin, say. It's quite overwhelming how many people have passed through here. Beatrix Potter
15:43holidayed on Ulver, Wordsworth, Keats, Walter Scott, they've all stepped foot on the island.
15:50I want the hotel to feel like us, but it has to feel like it's on Ulver. Getting that balance
15:57right is tricky.
16:03I like to build a room around the things that I find. So I'll go to salvage yards,
16:08secondhand shops, and what I find will help me build the room.
16:16OK, I've got my eye on this. When I'm searching for treasure, I'm always trying to find something
16:22that I think belongs in a space. I'm waiting to find that wow piece. Yeah, I've got something you
16:27might be interested then. Yeah.
16:32So this is quite interesting. It's a plan. It's an old legal document of some kind. And as you can
16:39see, it's the Isle of Ulver. Wow, that's beautiful. So that's the old house, 1771 to 1835. Wow. Oh,
16:50Colonel Macquarie of Ulver. I lived in this tiny town in the middle of nowhere, and he found that town.
16:56Really? Yeah. Wow. Yeah. So he traveled a long way from Ulver. Yeah, he certainly did.
17:03To get to the bush in Australia. And so did you. Yeah, exactly. Gosh, that's a good-looking piece
17:09of history. All right, we'll take this. Good stuff.
17:13Banjo has found that link to the island's past that he was looking for. And through one of his
17:19contacts, he has also secured a statement piece which will truly transform the room into the
17:25whiskey library of dreams. Oh, that's beautiful. And this is a beast. That's pretty impractical.
17:32But you know that feeling. You've just got to have it. I don't know if Ro will have that feeling.
17:37I'm just
17:38gonna... I'll get it back to Ulver Ferry. My job's done. Ro has to get it in the house.
17:46You're not telling me you don't like this. I love it. What a beast. It's a beast. It's too big.
17:52I just don't know. I just... You're not a visionary. No, I'm a practical person.
17:57Well, the window will just have to come off. How did you even get it here? I drove it.
18:03I picked it up. I got it in the back of a truck with a bloke. Well, you'll be getting
18:07in the back
18:08of a boat and the back of a tractor and the back of a... How are we ever gonna get
18:11it up to the house?
18:12Do you think that I'm just on the road buying little fluffy cushions? No, I don't...
18:15I'm making power moves here. This is a bargain. It was a beast. I couldn't say no to it.
18:20It's coming. Why can't you just... I just... I know you don't mean it. I just feel like sometimes you
18:24make things harder than the... Like you add layers. What have you got here now? Just a little delivery.
18:32I was not part of this decision-making process.
18:35Doable. We'll give our goal. See?
18:39He's a yes-man, Ray. That's what we need more of. You're encouraging the behaviour, Rory.
18:45Yeah, you got this end.
18:51Oh, bloody hell. A wee bit more.
18:56Here we go. You missed it. Hey, go down here, Rory. I didn't think you'd get it on.
18:59I didn't think you'd get it on. Let's see if we can get across first.
19:12See, Rory.
19:14Tell me who to provide without you by my side.
19:25It's big. Yeah, I know it's bloody big. Is it too big?
19:28Yeah, of course it's too big. We have to take out a window. Are you joking?
19:32Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
19:35You'll be okay. Oh, thanks so much, gentlemen. I've done it again.
19:40Oh, shut up. It's so annoying. Because he's right. That's perfect.
19:49Hey. Hey. I did it. Good job.
20:07I listened to the wind, to the wind of my soul.
20:11To balance that really shiny black gloss, I need the room to feel a bit more grounded.
20:17We need to bring it down to earth. So I want to put this wash on the wall.
20:22And Lydia is an incredible decorator.
20:29She has got this gorgeous lime wash effect that's going to add a touch of romance to the space.
20:35If in doubt, go darker. Darker.
20:37Moody-er. Because this kind of, it has to kind of talk to the black.
20:42Richer. Richer. Warmer.
20:44Richer and warmer. Yeah. Both of the things I wish I were.
20:50So I'm just doing this in all directions. So the texture's good for that lime wash look.
20:55So you can roller it. And I think you get a bit more out of the
21:00the colour if you've got this kind of two-dimensional brush look.
21:04It's going to create the mood that I want in that space.
21:07I want it to kind of feel like you're under a canopy of trees.
21:16I want to have the room finished for Ro. Just because he just wants one room finished.
21:21That he can just sit in and be clean and relax. I don't want people to feel that
21:29we're just coming here and ripping the soul out of the place. We're trying to
21:35bring the soul back into the building. We're kind of custodians of this house.
21:40So Anne, the president of the board, she has all the books for the library.
21:46She's going to come and deliver it. And she's going to see, I'm nervous for her to see this because
21:51she kind of has trusted us as caretakers of this house. And first thing I've done is paint the
22:03beloved library black. So I'm a bit worried what she might think. I'm desperate for their approval.
22:13The library, newly restored, stands ready for Banjo's eclectic vintage furnishings.
22:21Oh, my Gilly Mart. Oh, my marble side table. Oh my gosh. You'd kill me.
22:31Do you like my pheasant? Um, no. I wonder what grandpa's going to think of the pheasant.
22:37Hey, he's not going to. Oh, grandpa. Uh oh.
22:43Elsewhere, the electricians have begun the daunting task of rewiring the property.
22:47And a temporary generator breathes life into the library once more.
22:52Brilliant. Brilliant.
22:56Wow. What?
22:59That's lovely.
23:01Nice.
23:15I'm thinking Anne might think the library's going to be a lovely little subtle restoration job,
23:21but it's a full-blown makeover.
23:23So I don't know what she's going to make of it.
23:27Hello.
23:30This is the first time someone from the trust or the island has actually come in
23:33and had a look at what we've been doing. So it's a little bit nerve-wracking.
23:38Let's keep an eye on the books, Banjo, because I don't want them to get damaged.
23:43They're over a hundred years old, some of them.
23:45Oh, really? Almost as old as you.
23:46Oh, thank you.
23:48Just kidding.
23:51Come in.
23:55Hi, Anne.
23:56Hiya.
23:58Oh.
23:59Hello, hello, hello.
24:16Oh, look at the fire.
24:23Oh, it's gorgeous.
24:26It is lovely. And the lovely shiny black on the bookcases. That is just so chic.
24:36I mean, it's not exactly the library maybe you're expecting.
24:41No, I mean, I was quite a surprise to see that. I'm surprised, but not in a bad way. I
24:47love it.
24:48Well done.
24:48Oh, you like it?
24:49Yeah, I love it.
24:50Oh, phew.
24:53You've even got a library ladder. Wow.
24:56You've bought us a present. What's this?
24:59Well, this is part of a complete set of Sir Walter Scott's Waverley novels.
25:05It's on handmade paper. They're not that precious in terms of money, but they're precious in terms of
25:13the story. Yeah. Not only that they tell as a book, but of what they say about the people who
25:19lived here in the past. So these were here in the house before. Yes. So they're coming home.
25:25Yeah, they are. I love that. We have got gaps to fill on the bookshelf, Anne. Okay.
25:30So these will go perfectly. Yeah, okay.
25:34It was very emotional to see what they've done with the room and the bar on one side and the
25:39books
25:39on the other side. That's a nice touch. There's bound to be somebody who says,
25:44oh, I don't like this. It's black. And oh, why has it got a bar in it? There's bound to
25:48be.
25:48There's bound to be, especially from the older residents, the people who have been here longer.
25:54So we'll just have to wait and see. Plan with a bit of drink first and get them in then.
26:03That's the first step in opening the grandest little hotel in the Hebrides.
26:12Okay, Ro, switch it on.
26:16Switch the generator on.
26:24Our new islanders have successfully completed their first room, secured a temporary source of power to
26:31the house, and have begun to gain the trust of their new neighbours. A new chapter of island life has
26:39officially begun. Oh, how lovely. Cheers. It feels like this is just a little haven amongst the
26:50chaos. There's so much dust and noise all out there. We've built a little sanctuary.
26:58I'm exhausted. I'm wrecked. I think you did an amazing job. I think we did an amazing job. I'm blown
27:05away. But look at it. It's just lovely. Feels like the library this poem always deserved. You do a very
27:14good job of making something new feel like it's always been there. And this is what this feels like.
27:25No. It's the generator. That's the generator. Has it got enough fuel? No.
27:29Oh, baby, baby, it's a wild word. It's hard to get by just upon a smile.
27:43Oh, baby, baby, it's a wild word. I always remember you like a child, girl.
27:59Let's see you with pagar.
27:59Oh, baby, okay.
27:59I think what this can get?
28:00Right?
28:00You
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