Scottish Hotel Famous from 'The Wicker Man' Up for Auction
The Ellangowan Hotel, which served as the filming location for key scenes in the 1973 cult folk horror classic, is set to go under the hammer with a starting bid of £165,000.
The Ellangowan Hotel in Creetown, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland, is being auctioned with a starting price of £165,000. The establishment gained notoriety as the filming location for the Green Man pub in the 1973 cult film "The Wicker Man."
Notable scenes filmed at the hotel include a sequence where the landlord's daughter, Willow, portrayed by Britt Ekland, dances naked in an attempt to seduce a policeman. A local stripper was reportedly used as a body double for this particular scene.
The hotel, which has been closed since the COVID-19 pandemic, has already received planning permission to be redeveloped into seven flats and a wine bar. Before its closure, the Ellangowan featured nine guest bedrooms and a ground-floor restaurant with a main bar that still displayed production stills from the film.
Jenni Steele, film and creative industries manager at VisitScotland, emphasized the film's significance to Scotland's cinematic history, stating that "The Wicker Man is an important piece in the fabric of Scotland’s rich big screen history." She also noted that the film continues to draw fans to the filming locations.
"The Wicker Man," starring Christopher Lee as the ominous Lord Summerisle and Edward Woodward as the investigating police officer, Neil Howie, chronicles a Christian policeman's journey to a remote Scottish island to investigate a young girl's disappearance. The film has earned critical acclaim and a dedicated fanbase over the years.
The 128-year-old, B-listed building will be sold by Future Property Auctions on Thursday.