Although they expected to spend £150,000 on renovations they ended up going £70,000 over budget.

But now Stef, 40, and Simon, 37, have back-to-back Airbnb bookings on their five bedroom property which sits two hours outside of Glasgow in Argyll And Bute.

Stef, who is originally from Newcastle, told The Mirror: “We’re about to go back and set it up as a B&B, living there full-time.

“Simon is going to bake bread every morning.

“We are going to sleep in our favourite room with the shower in the turret, and rent out the other four rooms.

“They are priced from £140 and bookings have been pouring in.

“This is going to be our full-time job now, we’re so excited.”

Stef, who worked as a radio presenter in Dubai, and Simon, who worked in advertising, started renovating the castle in January this year.

But they ran into many problems, for example they had to pull up all the flagstones and break through concrete to get rid of the damp under the floor.

PAYING FOR THE DREAM

Because everything was delayed they had to cancel their first month of Airbnb bookings and lost £7,000.

Stef said: “We were quoted £150,000 and the builders told us work would be completed by June, so we began to take bookings.

“I shouldn’t have believed them.

“Living in our van, we began demolishing the stud walls ourselves while the builders finished work nearby.

“It was hard graft and Simon and I both lost weight.

“With no running water, we couldn’t shower and we ended up wearing the same clothes for days at a time.

“It was freezing in the van, and often the highlight of our day was a trip to the tip.”