Duchess of Argyll scraps music festival held in grounds of Inveraray Castle

The owner of an 18th century Scottish estate and castle which had a starring role in Downton Abbey has pulled the plug on a popular music festival after being snubbed for public funding.

The event took place in the grounds of Inverary Castle. Picture: Wikimedia Commons

Best of the West has attracted more than 30,000 people to the grounds of Inveraray Castle since it was first staged in 2011, with headline acts having included Eddi Reader and Donnie Munro.

But the festival, which also showcased food and drink producers, has now been scrapped by the Duchess of Argyll after it lost the backing of the local authority.

She is angry that Argyll and Bute Council has decided to fund several other music festivals from a £113,000 cash pot to support events when it turned down the one for the event on the 18th century estate.

The Duchess said it was a “huge regret” that the event - which has also been known as “BOWFest” since it was launched in 2011 - would not be going ahead this year.

She has pointed out that it has been worth more than £1 million to the local economy in recent years, but has cost a six-figure sum to stage.

However the council, which has turned down a request for £11,000 for this year’s event, has insisted it has only provided “low-level” and “ad-hoc” support in the past. It has suggested that BOWFest was not “commercially sustainable.”

It has confirmed that the Mull of Kintyre Music Festival, the Tiree Music Festival and Oban Live events have all been given funding for this year.

The Best of the West Festival was launched in 2011 following the demise of the Connect Festival which was staged in the grounds of Inveraray Castle by T in the Park organisers DF Concerts in 2007 and 2008, but was dogged by bad weather.

A spokeswoman said: The assessment of benefit of Best of the West to the local economy was well over a million pounds annually with local accommodation usually selling out within minutes of the dates being announced. In the eight years of the festival it attracted well over 30,000 visitors to an area reliant on tourism and had become a well-known addition to the Scottish festival calendar.

“This economic boost was delivered at the direct cost and risk to Argyll Estates. The festival was never a profit-making event and all returns, if any, were ploughed back into the pot for the following year.”

The Duchess added: “The reality is that we receive no government support and the council have withdrawn their financial assistance whilst providing significant funding to other similar events. Funding available from some local community sources has also been consistently denied despite the proven local interest and economic benefits.

“It is a huge regret that we can no longer deliver a family festival beneficial to the community in this part of Argyll but to bring a freshness and a continuity to this, or any event, requires support both financial and in kind.

A council spokesman said: “We’re disappointed that BOWFest will not go ahead this year. We provide funding where possible for events. However, it should be noted that our contribution to BOWFest has been low-level and on an ad-hoc basis, rather than as a key partner.

“Given ongoing cuts to our budgets, expectations of councils have to be realistic and events have to be commercially sustainable. We will continue to do everything possible to promote Argyll and Bute as a great place to live, work, visit and invest.”

A spokeswoman for Scottish Government agency EventScotland said: “We’re sorry to hear that the organisers of the Best of the West Festival have taken the decision to cancel this year’s festival. The previous events in 2017 and 2018 had received funding and we had anticipated receiving an application for the 2019 event.”