I love my neighbours. Both sides — they’re great. We’re very lucky. Most people are lucky: 90% of us get on fine (or better than fine) with our neighbours, according to a survey by Go.Gompare earlier this year.

Not everybody is quite so lucky. Some people end up dealing with loud music, passive-aggressive parking, or even 14-year legal battles involving fences and ornamental squirrels that run up hundreds of thousands of pounds in legal costs.

If you’re unfortunate enough to find yourself in a position where your neighbours are irking you, instead of enriching the legal profession and clogging up the courts, it might be better to find a place where your only neighbour is Mother Nature. And if that sounds good, then wow — do we ever have the place for you: Ardmore House, in Dunbartonshire, which is for sale through Strutt & Parker at offers over £635,000.

Those looking at that price tag from well-heeled suburbs where the cost of living is high — not least nearby Glasgow, where it would stretch only as far as a nice split-level flat — will be quietly staggered by what you can get for your money. Ardmore House sits in about 22 acres of land, which include the ruins of the 16th century Ardmore Tower, and surrounded by mature woodland just a stone's throw from the water.

The Ardmore in Dunbartonshire — not to be confused with the Ardmore in Ireland, or Ardmore Bay on the Isle of Skye — is actually its own little peninsula. While the property doesn't include the whole promontory, this is the only house here, with a ring of mature woodland sheltering the house from the gaze of the walkers and birdwatchers who come along this part of the Firth of Clyde.

Ardmore House itself dates to 1806, and is Category B-listed thanks to its age and somewhat unusual and rather striking architecture, with a central tower and crenellated parapets.

That tower on the front of the building forms part of the hallways on the ground and first floors, but is set up as a study on the second floor, offering glorious views of the surroundings. There are also two bedrooms on this floor, seemingly an ideal set-up for families with older children who need space to themselves and a place to study.

The remaining four bedrooms are all on the first floor, which is lit by a glorious circular cupola that crowns the entrance hall and sweeping staircase. Two of those bedrooms — one at either end of the house — are en-suite, while the other two have a bathroom and a separate cloakroom between them.

The ground has a similar layout, with the drawing room and kitchen-dining room both huge rooms placed on opposite sides of the house, with that grand hallway between them. There's also a library, a second kitchen and an artist's studio — the latter could be put to all sorts of uses.

Although a little updating here and there wouldn’t go amiss, Ardmore House currently combines ‘period proportions with contemporary artistic flair,’ according to the agent.

Beyond the 5,000 square feet of the main house you'll also find a number of outbuildings, including an early 19th-century observatory tower (which is a ruin) and a handsome stable block. There's also a lake, created by the current owners.

Situated on the northern shore of the Firth of Clyde on the accessible Ardmore Peninsula, between Cardross and Helensburgh, the views over the Firth of Clyde and north to the Arrochar Hills and Western Argyll are glorious. It's just a few minutes from Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, and you can jump in the car and be in Glasgow in about three quarters of an hour.

Ardmore House is for sale through Strutt & Parker — see more details.

A week or so ago, as the sun blazed in Italy, and the temperature displays outside the pharmacies headed into the 40s, I made a deal with myself. Next summer, we'll be holidaying in Scotland.

The only issue I imagined I'd have is deciding exactly where where to go — or so I thought. As it happened, immediately on my return I immediately came across the perfect Scottish home in which to take refuge from Europe's increasingly-brutal summers: Ronachan House.

It's a home that looks perfect for the climate change-era, a place from where I'll be able to enjoy the beauty of Scotland, bask in the perfectly temperate, not-too-hot and not-too-cold weather, and enjoy a sun that warms pleasantly without turning you lobster-red within 15 minutes.

It's even a perfect spot for dreamy sunsets: the house is on the west coast of the Kintyre Peninsula, about 40 miles directly north of the Mull of Kintyre, less than 20 minutes from Tarbert, and about a 35-minute drive from Campbeltown.

All that now separates me from my dream home in Scotland is the small matter of the £2.1 million I'll need to buy Ronachan House in Clachan, through the nice people at Strutt & Parker.

This Category B-listed in Clachan is as fine inside as it is outside. The place has been meticulously restored over the past 20 years, ensuring it offers luxury accommodation across three levels, retaining architectural grandeur together with chic decor.

The 13-bedroom house, dating from the Victorian era, is constructed from warm sandstone and features steeply pitched gables, tall clustered chimneys, finely detailed stonework, symmetrical bay windows and generous sashes from that time.

The agent refers to the three-storey Ronachan House as ‘a celebration of original period detailing’. The main house has seven bedrooms in total, with the principal suit sounding like a true joy, 'comprising a spacious bedroom, separate sitting area overlooking the bay and a beautifully appointed bathroom with roll-top bath and marble-tiled walk-in shower.'

The kitchen forms the heart of the ground floor, centred around a generous island and thoughtfully designed to lend itself to both entertaining and the daily rhythms of family life.

It barely needs pointing out, of course, but we'd be remiss not to add that the views from this 10½-acre property, set in a secluded position on the west coast’s Kintyre Peninsula, are exceptional. You can look out across the sea to the Inner Hebrides islands of Islay, Jura and Gigha.

There are also three dwellings beyond the main house: the Coach House, the Look Out and North Lodge, with three, one and two bedrooms respectively. A grand main house, and plenty of spots for guests? This really is a property that pretty much ticks every box.

There's a small chance (ok, quite a large chance) that I won' t quite get the required funds together in time to buy Ronachan House, so if it's if you who ends up buying it first, please feel free to pop me an invitation via Country Life. And I'll see you there next summer.

Ronachan House is for sale through Strutt & Parker — see more details.

They say you can't have your cake and eat it. While that might be true for cakes and other perishable items, it is very much not the case for nice houses in the countryside. Thanks to the wonders of technology and taste, you can have a house that, from the outside, looks like a lovely period home, but on the inside is a contemporary and comfortable family home with all the modern trimmings.

One such example would be the delightful Westfield House.

Edward Douglas-Home of Knight Frank in Edinburgh is seeking ‘offers over £2.5m’ for Category B-listed Westfield House, which is set in 18 acres of elegantly landscaped gardens, woodland and paddocks between Harburn and Calder in fashionable West Lothian, 21 miles from Edinburgh and 30 miles from Glasgow.

The handsome, early-19th- century country house sits centrally amid its grounds and is approached, like all good things must be, via a long tree-lined drive. The property itself offers more than 6,400sq ft of stylish, light-filled accommodation on three floors, including a conservatory, sun room, office, three reception rooms, a vast kitchen/dining room, six bedrooms and four bathrooms.

The interiors have been finished to an exceptionally high standard, featuring a joyful mix of contemporary and period touches throughout. Highlights are the spacious conservatory, which comes with its own attached bar space. When it comes to entertaining spaces, this is right up there.

Another highlight is the principal bedroom suite on the first floor, which features an en-suite bathroom with free-standing copper bath and a steam room, dressing room and nursery room.

Outbuildings include barns, garaging, workshops and excellent equestrian facilities, such as a 40-metre by 20-metre dressage arena with a sand and rubber surface and 12 loose boxes in either barns and purpose built stables.

The gardens contain sweeping lawns, terraces and well-stocked borders, while further afield from the house, woodland, paddocks and a pond edged with low planting, reeds and a timber-decked seating area to enjoy the tranquility of the water.

Situated just south of the town of Livingston, the property is flanked by Edinburgh to the east and Glasgow to the west, occupying one of the more desirable parts of southern Scotland. When it comes to the best of both worlds, location matters as much as style. Thankfully, Westfield House has both.

Westfield House is for sale with Knight Frank for £2.5 million. For more information and pictures, click here.

The River Ardle valley in Highland Perthshire, once the hunting ground of the kings of Scotland, is a quietly dramatic landscape of heather hills and open moorland giving way to rolling farmland, riverside pastures and banks of native woodland. It provides a colourful seasonal backdrop to historic, 2,018-acre Balvarran estate near Enochdhu in Strathardle, now for sale for ‘offers over £5.25 million’ through the Edinburgh office of Strutt & Parker.

The property has been owned on and off from the late 18th century to the present day by the Stormonth Darling family and has been a much-loved and cared-for family home. However, it is little known even by those familiar with the local lively sporting scene, observes selling agent Robert McCulloch, who describes it as ‘a hidden gem of an estate’.

Balvarran, 12 miles north-east of Pitlochry, was the ancient home of the Barons Reid from 1554, when the Earl of Atholl granted the lands of Inverchroskie to John Reid, the 4th Baron, who built his house there and named it Balvarran, which means ‘township of the baron’.

The 7th Baron built the oldest part of the present house, which was completed in 1641. However, despite paying his dues to the Royalist Earl of Atholl, he was arbitrarily fined under punitive measures instituted by the English Parliament, which saw Balvarran set on fire by the Marquess of Montrose and his troops in 1644.

The last of the Reids to own Balvarran was the 15th Baron, Gen John Reid, during whose lifetime the estate was put into a trust, with James Stormonth of Lednathie one of several trustees. As the sole surviving trustee, Stormonth sold Balvarran in 1776 to a fellow lawyer, but retained an option to buy it back, which he did in 1781, establishing a new trust for the benefit of the Darling family in 1805. Balvarran was later sold again, before returning to Stormonth’s descendants in 1864, following its acquisition by his great-great-nephew, Moir, Lord Stormonth Darling, a former Solicitor General for Scotland.

The expansion and embellishment of the house, which is now listed Category B, followed in 1895 with the addition of a new porch and billiards room, together with kennels and stables designed by eminent Scottish architect Sir Robert Lorimer. Further improvements took place in the 1960s and the late 1980s, with the addition of an additional reception room and an indoor swimming pool.

Built of stone under pitched slate roofs, the house stands more than 1,000ft above sea level, overlooking lush lawns fringed by rhododendrons and azaleas with the main façade facing south-west across Strathardle.

A striking feature of the exterior is its colour, which reflects its original iron-oxide lime render, a rarity among traditional Scottish country houses. The accommodation is laid out over two main floors with attics above and includes a large kitchen/breakfast room, five good reception rooms (one the billiards room), nine bedrooms and six bathrooms, plus an office, gun room, flower room, plant/boiler room and temperature-controlled wine cellar.

Additional dwellings comprise the original coach house and six further houses and cottages. The land holding is some 55 acres of permanent pasture, 189 acres of rough grazing, 98 of woods, 1,651 of hill ground and 25 of roads and buildings. For fieldsports devotees, there is grouse- shooting on the hill ground; this is managed on a light-touch basis and allows for a few days of walked-up shooting for modest, but hard-earned bags. There is no formal shoot, although the woods and game crops offer scope to develop driven game shooting in the future.

A relatively high deer population in this part of Perthshire means that Balvarran provides unusually prolific red-deer stalking and a mile or so of salmon fishing includes several pools on the upper River Ardle — fishing can take place in appropriate spate conditions during the second half of the season.

For more information on this property visit Strutt & Parker's website.

This feature originally appeared in the August 12, 2026, print edition of Country Life. Click here for more information on how to subscribe.

If there’s one thing that the Scots do well, better than anyone you might argue, it’s build castles that look like castles. By that, I mean buildings awash with turrets, towers and floors that don’t really line up in a straight line. Not only do they build them well, they build them bountifully.

It is the fantasy of many to get themselves a slice of the action. Should you be one such person with one such fantasy, then look no further. Annabel Blackett of Strutt & Parker seeks ‘offers over £950,000’ for picturesque, 16th-century Category A-listed Allardice Castle, set in three acres of lovely gardens and grounds overlooking the Bervie Water, two miles north-west of Inverbervie on the north-east coast of Scotland.

Historically, many of these castles remain family heirlooms of former clan chiefs or Victorian industrialists, so it is rare that they come on the market. But when they do, it is always worth having a browse online and imagining yourself roaming your very own halls of power.

Allardice Castle is listed grade A, and can trace its roots all the way back to the 16th century, when it was the chief seat of the Barons of Allardice, who first appeared in a charter from 1197. Are they any relation to Big Sam Allardyce? We can’t know for sure, but this is very much the kind of house I can see him living in. I digress.

Dating from 1542, the castle has undergone many changes and alterations over the years, which is to be expected, considering those years run into the hundreds. Most importantly were those made at the end of the 19th century, which turned the castle from a fortified keep and tower house and into a family home.

Beautifully restored by the current owners, who bought it in the 1970s, the castle, built of harled stone under a slate roof, offers 4,553sq ft of comfortable accom- modation on four floors, including spiral staircases, a vaulted entrance hall, three fine reception rooms, a library, home office, six bedrooms and three bathrooms. It goes without saying that each room, each stair, each floorboard and every window is lashed with centuries of history and character. There is no grey furniture here.

Alas, the many lands of Allardice have somewhat shrunk in recent years, and the castle now comes with three acres of gardens and grounds, which lead down to the Berview Water — the castle benefits from riparian fishing rights.

Situated south of Aberdeen, the castle is only a few miles from the coastal town of Inverbervie, which also provides plenty of amenities within easy reach. Heading west will take you into the glories of the Cairngorms in no time, a delight for those who enjoy walking, hiking, or the many other kinds of adventurous activity that can be found in the UK’s largest national park.

Allardice Castle is for sale with Strutt & Parker for offers over £950,000. For more information and pictures, click here.

When it comes to spectacular scenery, there’s nothing currently on the market that comes close to matching the views across the Atlantic towards Ardnamurchan with distant glimpses of the Uists and Barra.

This is the dramatic setting for the 3,702-acre Glengorm estate, near Tobermory, on the northern tip of the Isle of Mull, for which Savills seek ‘offers over £9 million’. The estate comprises a diverse island landscape of coastal grazings, ancient woodland and hill, with shore frontage of more than three miles.

Something of a sporting paradise, the property offers fishing, shooting and stalking opportunities, and comes with three lochs, including the ancient volcanic Loch of 'S Airde Beinn.

At its heart stands the grand, Category B-listed Glengorm Castle, built in 1860 in the Scottish Baronial style by Edinburgh architects Kinnear and Peddie for Laird James Forsyth of Dunach, using granite quarried on the Ross of Mull.

It has 18 bedrooms, including five principal bedrooms and three self-contained apartments, currently rented out as holiday lets. The interiors are in fantastic condition, blending historic grandeur with modern comfort, and have been decorated with a sense of colour and contemporary style, which will be useful during the dour winter months.

Farming is an integral part of Glengorm’s heritage, based around its hefted herds of pedigree Highland cattle and Scottish Blackface sheep. For more than 170 years, the Glengorm fold of Highland cattle, which thrives on natural grazing and delivers beef of exceptional quality, has been internationally known for its hardiness, longevity and strong traditional characteristics. The livestock are all outdoor-based and form part of the estate’s landscape, grazing from the hills down to the shoreline.

And when it comes to location, few places are better than the Isle of Mull, with it's astounding scenery and coastal views. Glengorm Castle is five miles north-west of Tobermory, Mull's principal town and cultural hub, famed for its colourful buildings. Beaches, coves, walks — this is as Scotland as they come.

Glengorm Estate is for sale with Savills for offers in excess of £9 million. For more information and images, click here.

Over here, you'll see Ben Nevis; across there, Glencoe. Look along the Loch one way, and you'll come to Fort William; head down the other side, and you'll hit Duart Castle. Wander over the hills behind you, and you'll see the Isle of Mull. If ever a house was a microcosm of the glorious pleasures of the Highlands and Islands, it's Ard Daraich. And it's currently on the market, with Knight Frank asking for offers over £750,000.

The breathtaking views speak for themselves — we make no apologies for going a bit mad with the photographs.

But the house itself is just as lovely: this is a charmingly traditional four-bedroom lodge that retains the same look and feel that it's probably had since it was built in 1919, with floors of stone and timber, Chesterfield sofas, four-poster beds and wood-panelled walls.

Yet don't be deceived: the house has been very carefully updated, and thus you'll find modern kitchen units, central heating and various other touches which mean this is much more than a museum piece.

If you have already fallen in love with the place you're in good company, for this was once the Highland home of one of the most remarkable women of the 20th century: Constance Spry.

After a conventional start to her adult life, Spry left her (abusive) first husband during the First World War, taking her two young children with her to start a new life in Barrow-in-Furness. She joined the civil service, working as head of women's welfare in the Ministry of Aircraft Production, though after the war she moved into education, becoming headmistress of a school in London.

Part of her remit at the Homerton and South Hackney Day Continuation School was teaching flower arranging to the girls in her charge, something which started her on a road to becoming one of Britain's most influential florists. She was enormously successful, doing the flowers for Elizabeth II — first for her wedding, and then six years later for the Coronation itself.

Even more remarkably, her role in the Coronation went beyond the flowers. Spry and her Cordon Bleu-trained friend Rosemary Hume were asked to create a special dish to be served to the foreign delegates attending the event. The dish they created? Coronation chicken.

At this point, you won't even be vaguely surprised that when David Austin created his very first rose, he named it Constance Spry. Nor will you be surprised to hear that the six and a half acres of gardens and grounds included with the purchase price are as beautiful as anything you'll find at these latitudes. Just wonderful.

Ard Daraich is for sale through Knight Frank — see more details.

Do you ever feel the burning desire to go off-grid? To ditch the screens, mute the news alerts, and abandon that never-ending to-do list?

If so — and your budget doesn’t stretch to the £3m Scottish island that Soho House founder Nick Jones has just put up for sale — then Mullagrach Island could be the retreat for you. And I’ll give you four good reasons why.

First, it is remote. Very remote. Mullagrach is the northernmost island in the Summer Isles archipelago in the far northwest of Scotland. Concerned about rush hour traffic or coach loads of tourists? Not a chance. The only way to reach Mullagrach is by boat from Ullapool or Old Dornie on the mainland (or by helicopter, if that’s your bag). The location tends to keep the Deliveroo riders at bay.

Secondly, it is pretty much untouched. This 88.7-acre island is fantastically rugged. It’s covered in grasses, heathers, ferns, lichen, and wild flowers; you get the drift. And the coastline features rocky beaches, sheltered coves, cliffs and caves — including Am Fang, the deepest cave in the archipelago. Apart from the wildlife, nobody lives on Mullagrach.

Such is the significant of this area, it forms part of Scotland’s first UNESCO geopark, and it sits within the Wester Ross Marine Protected Area.

Thirdly, it’s a haven for wildlife. We’re told the waters are rich in marine life: seals, dolphins and sometimes minke whales are spotted here. Further down the food chain, there’s scallops, prawns, lobsters, and crabs as well as mackerel, pollock and sea bass. Great skuas, shags, fulmars, greylag geese and otters also roam.

You see, there’ll be no time for scrolling on Instagram here — you’ll be far too busy scanning the landscape for the kind of wildlife that’s unheard of in the Home Counties.

Finally, it’s short on home comforts. Mullagrach is home to just one bijou cabin tucked discreetly into the landscape, complete with a curved, heather-clad roof and floor-to-ceiling windows that offer a stunning view of the nearby islands. It’s kitted-out with a wood burning stove, a kitchen and dining area, and two box beds.

Yet while you're off grid, that doesn't mean you're without the essentials: this single-room cabin runs on solar power, and water comes via a rainwater collection system. There's even a composting loo outside. Robinson Crusoe would be proud.

There's another selling point, too: it looks like being a bit of a bargain. If you regularly keep tabs on the niche world of Scottish island sales, Mullagrach may ring a bell as it was on the market for £500,000 back in 2024. A seller wasn't found at the time, and so instead it's due to go to auction with Savills on 9th June with a guide price of just £350,000 guide price.

Sure, you could use that money to by a one-bedroom flat in Crouch End, a cottage in Pembrokeshire or a barn in the Yokshire Dales. But how could you turn down the chance to buy a private island?

Mhairi Archibald of Savills Auctions thinks so too, saying that they expect significant interest ahead of the sale given Mullagrach’s scale, setting and ready-to-enjoy accommodation.

She adds: ‘The sale of Mullagrach presents a compelling opportunity for buyers seeking something genuinely rare.’

Mhairi's colleage Iona Conn agrees: ‘Private islands offer a unique sense of peace and connection to the landscape, and opportunities to acquire them remain limited. Mullagrach is particularly appealing in combining that sense of seclusion with a setting that is both accessible and ready to enjoy.’

Well said, Iona. We'll see you there on auction day.

Mullagrach is for sale via Savills — see more details.

Nick Jones, the founder of private members club Soho House, has built a reputation for creating achingly cool destinations favoured by A-listers around the world.

So the news that he’s hoisted a ‘For Sale’ sign on his 103-acre private island — located in what he calls ‘one of Scotland’s most idyllic settings’ — is bound to cause a stir.

Set in the heart of Loch Lomond, uninhabited Inchconnachan Island is blanketed in ancient Scots pine, oak and birch woodland. And while there are no liveable buildings on it at the moment, it comes with plans for a luxury estate designed by GRAS Architects.

What happens with those plans is up to the buyer. The agents, Sotheby's International Realty, are offering the island for £3 million with planning consent already in place; alternatively, Jones is offering to manage the entire build on your behalf — expected to be a two-year project. The cost of this alternate option? £10 million, which includes all the plans being ‘fully realised under Jones’s direction and vision’.

In other words, he's offering to build you your very own Soho House in the heart of Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park.

Naturally, Jones — a hugely successful entrepreneur with a reported net worth of £1.4 billion — isn't doing this for the fun of the project. When the island came up for sale in 2020 it was offered at offers over £500,000, though Jones is believed to have paid three times that in the end. Even still, his involvement — and those plans — have already upped its asking price substantially. Adding a further £7 million for the build will make this one of the most expensive homes in Scotland.

The new owner of Inchconnachan Island will inherit a colourful legacy. It’s nicknamed Wallaby Island on account of the red-necked wallabies that live there: they were introduced by the island’s former owner, a spirited Scottish aristocrat known as the Countess of Arran.

Born Fiona Bryde Colquhoun, she was no stranger to the headlines. With a penchant for speed, the champion powerboat racer was dubbed ‘the fastest granny on water’ when she travelled at a whopping 103mph on Lake Windermere in the Lake District in 1980 in a powerboat called Skean-Dhu.

The Colquhoun family had owned Inchconnachan Island since the 14th century before it went on the market six years ago for £500,000. Jones and his wife, broadcaster Kirsty Young — who, in a case of life imitating art, used to host the iconic BBC Radio 4 show Desert Island Discs — subsequently bought it for a reported £1.55m.

Since then, the couple has secured planning permission for a luxury two-storey lodge on the shoreline, with sweeping views of Ben Lomond, one of Scotland’s highest mountains. The lodge design includes three bedroom suites, with scope to expand to five. The plans also include a boathouse with integrated warden’s accommodation and a private jetty.

Over on the mainland, there is another jetty and a garage and storage facility too.

According to Sotheby’s International Realty, which is selling Inchconnachan Island, the overall design has been drawn up to emphasise restraint, longevity, and sensitivity to the landscape.

Although Inchconnachan Island screams seclusion, it is well-connected. Just across the water lies the Tom Weiskopf-designed Loch Lomond Golf Club, while Glasgow International Airport is around a 40-minute drive away.

Jones explains: ‘I love Scotland. It offers the last great wilderness of Western Europe. Inchconnachan Island is surrounded by the most incredible natural scenery, in one of Scotland’s most idyllic settings, Loch Lomond. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to own an island and to care for its flora, fauna, and wildlife, under the guidance of Nature Scot.

‘The building itself has been environmentally designed with uninterrupted views of Ben Lomond, whilst at the same time sitting comfortably within the natural landscape of ancient Scots pine.

‘The house has been designed for extreme comfort, for family, for golfing and fishing weekends, as well as moments of solitude and reflection. It all starts and finishes with a 15min boat ride in sheltered waters to and from your private jetty.’

He adds: ‘This is such a unique part of the world and a real one-off!’

Becky Fatemi, executive partner at Sotheby’s International Realty UK, believes the combination of the island’s scale, setting and planning consent within a national park is ‘exceptionally rare’.

She says: ‘What makes the opportunity particularly compelling is that it is already well defined. Buyers are not being asked to speculate or navigate years of planning uncertainty.

'They can either take on the project themselves with consent firmly in place or acquire a fully realised private island retreat shaped under Nick Jones’s vision. In both cases, the estate has been properly planned and is ready to be delivered.’

In her view, Inchconnachan Island will attract buyers seeking privacy, discretion, and connectivity.

‘We expect interest from both UK-based purchasers and international buyers, particularly from the US, where Scotland’s landscape, heritage and lifestyle continue to hold strong appeal,’ Fatemi adds.

Inchconnachan Island is for sale through Sotheby’s International Realty — see more details.

Not for nothing is Skye the most visited island in Scotland. The open skies, towering mountains, dramatic seas and other-worldly landscapes do a fine job of distilling the appeal of the Highlands and Islands into a strip of land 50 miles tall and 25 miles wide. Do the sheer number of visitors have an impact? Of course, but the thriving tourism trade has allowed superb hotels, restaurants and all sorts of other good things thrive. This is wilderness with a soft pillow.

It's fitting, then, that a house has come up for sale on Skye which does a similar job: mixing a pristine natural setting with modern 21st century comfort. This new-build house at Drynoch is set against a stunningly beautiful backdrop, but is also a six-bedroom, six-bathroom home laid out over two floors, and with excellent green-living potential. And it's for sale at offers over £560,000 — which is the sort of money you'd pay for a two-bedroom flat in Acton.

Enjoying views towards the Cuillin mountains, the house is timber-frame and designed by the Skye-based businesses Rural Design Architects and builder James MacQueen.

The floorplan of this 2,500 sq ft home is a simple one. Downstairs, there are four bedrooms (three of which are en-suite) plus a kitchen/diner/living space and a utility room.

Upstairs you'll find and two more bedrooms, both en-suite, separated by a first floor reception room.

That's what it says on the listing, at least: the reality is that this is a home which could be configured and used in many different ways, either as a permanent home or an island escape. As you can see from the pictures, it's a complete blank canvas. The structure is based on an R.House design, but it's been beautifully specced: oak floors, a Nobilia kitchen and beautiful bathrooms.

It's also pretty close to being self-sufficient. The house comes with an air-source heat pump, underfloor heating and a private water supply.

And while this backdrop is the true appeal of a house like this, it's also well-placed to make the most of life on Skye. Drynoch lies just north of Sligachan and close to the Fairy Pools, among Skye’s most iconic locations. It's an area renowned for its dramatic scenery, whether you want to indulge in walking, climbing, cycling and wildlife watching, or just sit back and enjoy the view. And when you want to be among people again, Portree — Skye's capital — is only 20 minutes away.

For sale via R. House — see more details.

Everything connected to Kings Grange feels spacious. How can you not love a house with a hallway that can just swallow up two sofas without feeling cramped? Or a drawing room where a grand piano lives happily in the bay window, still leaving space for a few pot plants?

Even the gardens are gently spread out across their 11 acres. It's like the opposite of those new-builds with 'compact' rooms and tiny gardens. Those in need of space to swing cats have found their happy place, and it's for sale via Savills at offers over £995,000 — the sort of money you'd pay for a three-bed new-build in south London.

The home you're getting is a seven-bedroom in Castle Douglas, within Dumfries & Galloway and not far from Dumfries itself, which has relatively easy access north to Glasgow or south to England.

Built in 1863, this Victorian manor covers 8,990ft sq over two floors (there is also a basement), and it's in fine shape. The place might need a bit of updating here and there — a few carpets, a lick of paint — but there don't appear to be any serious issues to be addressed.

And the exciting thing is the sheer wealth of spaces on offer: it's the sort of place that, when you open up the floorplan online, all the writing is too small to read because they've had to cram so much on to your screen. We had to zoom right in to see some of the highlights: music room, library, a workshop, and both a study and an office.

There's also a sun room, a courtyard, garaging, stables... It's huge. Even the cellars are noteworthy, sprawling beneath the two sections of the house with nooks, crannies, storage spaces and a pump room. In short, everything you need for the greatest game of hide-and-seek ever played.

It's also a home that'll lend itself to multi-generational living, with a separate ground floor annexe and an upstairs living room with kitchenette in one corner that could effectively be used as a studio room.

The gardens are well known in the local area as have previously been open as part of Scotland’s Gardens Scheme, which describes Kings Grange’s gem in its blurb as: ‘An extensive garden surrounded by mature trees and shrubberies, with views to the south-west over the surrounding countryside.’

The current vendors can take the credit for this green-fingered restoration of the original Victorian garden and their planting of herbaceous mixed borders, beds and rockeries provides blasts of colour at various times of the year.

The new owners will also be able to enjoy 600m of single-bank fishing rights on the River Urr; they'll also be able to make the most of the three paddocks, two fields, a range of outbuildings — including those stables, a chicken pen, a machine store — plus a kitchen garden, an orchard, and a managed woodland. Phew.

‘Kings Grange is a unique country home that combines traditional charm, extensive grounds and a wealth of amenities perfect for those seeking privacy and heritage amid the serene beauty of rural Scotland,’ says agent Iona Conn.

Kings Grange Manor is for sale via Savills at offers over £995,000 — see more details and pictures.

Anyone seeking a bolthole in the Highlands of Scotland need look no further than Sealladh an Loch, which sits almost on the banks of Loch Ness close to the village of Foyers. It's for sale at the moment for offers over £649,950 through Strutt & Parker.

Once ensconced, the buyers will be able to gaze towards the loch in search of Nessie and beyond to the dramatic forests and mountain ranges. And they'll be able to do so in the knowledge that their boiler won't be bankrupting them as they soak it all in, for this is not just an exquisite Highland escape, it's also a state-of-the-art eco home. In a part of the world where the temperature can easily sink below -10 degrees, that's good to know. Especially when you're talking about heating a six-bedroom house of 3,500+ sq ft with high ceilings, tiled floors and a central space big enough to swallow a full-sized snooker table.

The windows through which you'll gaze upon the craggy mountains and dark, mysterious waters are all triple glazed; the home — including all six bedrooms — is warmed via a ground-source heat pump, and even making a cup of tea won't involve boiling a whole kettle: there's a Zip Tap which produces boiling water on demand.

As you'll probably have guessed from the internal fittings and furniture — and the generic decorations, the folded towels on the beds and the absolute, immaculate lack of mess — the house is currently run as a holiday let. We did find the place on Air Bnb, where a week in May was listed at just under £6,000. It doesn't take the mathematical skills of Stephen Hawking to realise that if you rented the place out for even ten weeks a year at that sort of rate, this is a £650k house that could probably pay for itself — something you'd struggle to say of an equivalently-priced property in London (let's use this two-bedroom flat in Crystal Palace as an example).

It's probably far more complicated than we just made it seem — maintenance, insurance, taxes and so on — but for those keen on carrying on the holiday business as things are, the agents are best-placed to provide more info. We'll leave it to them.

For those wishing to buy the place as a Highland home for themselves, however, it'd be an eminently practical choice. The north shore of Loch Ness, as well as being magical and ethereally beautiful and so on, is a very easy drive from Inverness, where road, rail and air links to the rest of Scotland and beyond are straightforward.

We'd love to see the new incumbents put their own stamp on the place, from livening up the three reception rooms to making the most of the open-plan kitchen/dining room, perhaps adding more eco features, and letting their imagination run riot in the half-acre of gardens that surround the place. What an opportunity awaits.

Sealladh an Loch is for sale via Strutt & Parker at offers over £649,950 — see more details and pictures.

Sometimes it's not easy to know where to start when talking about a beautiful property. Sometimes it's the graceful architecture, but it might as easily be the charming gardens, the wonderful location or the fascinating history of what's gone on within the walls.

In the case of Doune Bay Lodge, it's easy.

Look. At. That. View.

Quite something, isn't it? And in case you're worried that it's tiny, or needs a complete rebuild, or something else worrying, we really can't find a single bad thing to say about the place. Even the price of £395,000 seems hard to believe; there aren't many places where that sort of money would buy you five bedrooms, two acres and your own beach.

Doune Bay Lodge has a dream location in a cove all of its own on the Knoydart Peninsula, looking across the Sound of Sleat to the Isle of Skye.

The rest of the Knoydart Peninsula, in case you're wondering, is exactly as beautiful as you'd imagine. It's like living in Middle Earth.

The house itself is laid out on the simplest of plans: it's a plain rectangle, with two storeys. Downstairs there's a large, open-plan living and dining room, with a separate kithchen area off to one side.

There are also are a pair of bedrooms — both en suite — with one accessed from a small hallway, and the other from the living space.

Above, there are three more bedrooms — again, all with en suite bathrooms, as you might expect of a place that has primarily been used as a holiday let.

Around the back of the house is a workshop and storehouse that has a separate little shower room, ideal for washing sand off after a day's walking in the hills or swimming in the bay.

And then there's the deck, as seen above, facing out towards the west to give you the greatest imaginable sunsets during the long, lazy days of summer.

If there is a caveat, that is what it is: Doune Bay Lodge really does feel like a summer house rather than a year-round home. The house is self-sufficient for energy and water, with both a solar power system with 28 panels and a 'micro hydro system' to produce water. Should Nature fail to keep you running, there's also a diesel generator.

The other caveat also happens to be one of the great selling points: the house is almost unbelievably remote. To get there you have to head to Mallaig, the town at the end of the main A830 road from Fort William, and then catch a ferry to Inverie.

Inverie is almost unique among mainland towns in Britain, in that it has roads, but none that are connected to the UK road network. Away from Inverie itself there are a few tracks that get you around the Knoydart Peninsula, one of which takes you towards Doune Bay.

The other alternative is to head straight there in your own boat, and the good news is that the property has a boathouse, with the boat available by separate negotiation. (The same goes for the owner's quad bike, apparently.)

If you're worried about being too isolated, the good news is that the lodge isn't the only building at Doune Bay. There's also a very small hotel, which as well as serving meals, means that there are a few people not too far away.

Doune Bay Lodge is for sale at £395,000 — see more details.

Some people just can't resist a challenge.

'It was in a bad state of repair,' admits the owner of Bogbain Mill, in a Highland village around 20 miles from Inverness.

'It was just sturdy stone walls, no flooring other than bare earth, no roof and no foundations.

'At first the task seemed almost an impossible one, but it had a charm that cried out to be saved.'

Years of work to plans drawn by Isle of Skye architects Rural Design followed, and Bogbain, an 1850s watermill, was indeed saved. As the before-and-after pictures here show, it's an extraordinary transformation, and the project scooped a string of architectural awards, including ones from both the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland.

Such projects can be addictive, though. The owner — Highland-born, but London based — had already saved a Georgian house down south, and is now looking for a smaller project 'to reflect my increasing age. I’m future proofing, while I still have the energy.' As such, Bogbain Mill is now on the market at offers over £1.65 million via Fine & Country.

For that price the new owner will get a six-bedroom home designed on an L-shaped plan, and cleverly incorporating the ruins of the former mill. It's an amazing space — particularly if you want to entertain, and the owners have done that for many years since the house was finished in 2011. 'Every October the house is full to breaking point with a group of friends who all have birthdays that month,' he says, 'but sadly 2025 was the last big party of its kind, at least in this location.'

It's certainly a home designed to accommodate plenty of guests: all six bedrooms have ensuite bathrooms, and there are numerous reception spaces across the three floors, as well as a detached gym, sauna and spa area.

There's also plenty of outdoor space, with south-facing gardens of just over six acres that are a mix of lawns, flower beds and woodland in which to walk and relax.

The original stone mill had the primarily L-shaped floorplan that the house has today, that that's been worked into the design ingeniously. The architects created a number of timber pavilions, additions to the walls, and arranged unfolding layers of inhabitation over the ruins. The result is a series of courtyard spaces, inside and outside, with the old stone mill as the focal point, providing a secluded private entrance to the main living area.

Perhaps the most striking element is the tower, three storeys high. A granite room on the lowest level that once housed the long-decomposed water wheel is now a dining room; there's a living room above that; and on the top floor is the master bedroom, with floor-to-ceiling windows and 270-degree views over the woodlands.

The kitchen extends to a glass-sided cube that protrudes into an open-ended courtyard, which in turns leads to a secluded walled court and pond.

The effect is a house that seems to hold little surprises everywhere you look. Given that Inverness Airport is only half an hour away, it could be a commutable part-time based, or a holiday home — or indeed simply a wonderful permanent base in a beautiful part of the world.

Bogbain Mill is on the market at offers over £1.65 million via Fine & Country — see more details.

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Monreith House and Estate, near the coastal village of Port William in Dumfries and Galloway, is a Category A-listed Georgian mansion. Set in 329 acres, it was built in the 1790s for the Maxwell family. Now, almost 250 years later, the Maxwells are moving on, and Monreith is now on the market, with offers sought over £1.89 million.

Having previously been based at Myrton Castle, the Maxwells of Monreith became one of the most important families in the area and notable members include Gavin Maxwell, the naturalist and author of Ring of Bright Water.

By the start of the millennium, the house had fallen into disrepair. In 2011, it was featured in Channel 4’s series Country House Rescue, during which the host, Ruth Watson, tried to help Sir Michael Maxwell address the financial challenges he faced. The property is being sold out of the family for the first time.

At the heart of the estate is the mansion house with 15 bedrooms, and definitely in need of a generational overhaul.

While work does need doing, this is a grand and impressive home, with huge windows, high ceilings and fascinating details to be uncovered. Take the billiards room as just one example, with its engraved bookshelving, bespoke cabinets and an original fireplace. Houses simply aren't built this way any more.

There is also far more on offer than the house itself, though: mature woodland, the White Loch of Myrton, several cottages and Kirkmaiden Church, set on the coastline.

Selling agent Kay Paton of Savills says that it presents an opportunity for someone who has an interest in restoring the historic property, which includes gems such as tapestries that once hung in the castle that burned down and made way for the building of Monreith.

‘It will also appeal to someone who doesn’t mind living a quieter life off the beaten track in a beautiful, but often overlooked part of Scotland,’ she adds.

‘People don’t turn left often enough after they cross the border to discover it.’

Monreith is for sale via Savills for offers over £1.89 million — see more details.

Just last week we looked at the extraordinary value available in the Scottish Borders, where £1 million can still buy a grand house with land. A perfect example to demonstrate the point on the market right now: Kirklands House, for sale at offers over £1.1m jointly with GSC Grays and Savills.

The house is close to Melrose, a market town widely viewed as one of the most sought-after places to live in the Scottish Borders. Set beneath the Eildon Hills, it has an attractive town centre with independent shops, cafés, boutique hotels and amenities and it hosts cultural events, too, such as the popular Borders Book Festival, while the world's first Rugby Sevens tournament took place here in 1883, and is still held annually in the town today.

Young professionals wanting to move out to the countryside or those with roots in the Borders coming home from a stint living down south might be the ideal candidates for the new owners of Kirklands, which is an elegant Category B-listed country house with six bedrooms and set in 5½ acres. Built in the 1730s, with Victorian additions, the house is arranged over three floors; it has been a much-loved family home for the past 20 years.

‘Kirklands is a fantastic house with a south-facing position high above the River Tweed [and it] has been carefully looked after by the current owners,’ says Mr Denne, adding that they have run a successful B&B business from the house.

‘It doesn’t need what I call a “generational overhaul”, but the new custodians will probably want to stamp their own decorative mark on the place.’

For those looking for a bit more besides, there is a further two-bedroom cottage with loose boxes, garaging and a workshop available via a separate lot and it could, subject to the usual consents, be turned into a holiday property.

For all that, this is not a property that needs to be acquired with a lifestyle business in mind, since Kirklands is a sound spot for commuters to Edinburgh: the rail link at nearby Tweedbank station has services to Edinburgh Waverley that take an hour.

Kirklands is on the market for offers over £1.1m via GSC Grays and Savills.

Despite a mixed picture in other parts of the country, the property market in the Scottish Borders has been quietly successful in recent years. The number of £1 million-plus property sales has increased sixfold between 2019 and 2024 — the caveat being that the numbers involved are small: up from only two in 2019 to 12 in 2024, according to a report commissioned by the Edinburgh-based buying agency Fyndd.

Nevertheless, Jamie McNeill, director at Fyndd, believes that the Borders has become one of the strongest growth stories in Scotland’s prime property market in recent years.

Value for money is a leading driver behind this interest, says selling agent James Denne, formerly of Knight Frank and now with GSC Grays, who has spent nearly 30 years working in the Borders. ‘You get a lot more bang for your buck here,’ he says. This is supported by the statistics: a £1m budget typically buys almost double the space compared with the Scottish average and about 80% more than in Edinburgh or East Lothian, according to figures from Fyndd.

A typical buyer profile of someone looking in the Borders tends to be made up of those leaving Edinburgh in search of more space for their growing families or those with links to the area who are returning home.

There is also some international demand. Mr McNeill is currently acting for American-based clients purchasing a small estate in the Borders, having compared options in East Lothian, Fife and Perthshire.

‘American interest in owning property in Scotland is growing and we’ve seen a corresponding rise in demand for prime Borders homes from across the Atlantic in the past six to 12 months,’ says Mr McNeill. ‘Many American buyers have children who wish to study in Scotland.’

Again, value has been a key driver. ‘Whereas a £2.5m budget might secure a 4,500sq ft house in North Berwick, the same price in the Borders buys closer to 20,000sq ft across a principal house and outbuildings.’

The other big draw is the quality of lifeon offer, adds Mr Denne, who has recently found buyers for two large properties, Allerly House and Friars Hall, both in the village of Gattonside, just outside Melrose. ‘There is a tremendous freedom you enjoy up here—particularly in terms of getting out and walking in the hills, not to mention all the sports on offer,' he says. 'You aren’t isolated in the middle of nowhere, you’re connected, but at the same time the Borders’ landscape offers so much scope for exploration and the pace of life is slower.’

What does this value for money look like? Take The Old Manse in Teviothead as an example. On the market at offers over £895,000 via GSC Grays, it is set in the heart of so-called Reiver Country, a reference to the time when some locals made their living by raiding cattle, goods and, at times, kidnapping during the prolonged wars between England and Scotland before peace was enforced in the early 17th century.

The property stands about 10 miles from Hawick and north of Teviot-head. A few yards from the house lies the grave of John Armstrong, otherwise known as Johnnie (Laird) of Gilnockie, an infamous Reiver whose rogueish image was romanticised in the works of Sir Walter Scott.

Enjoying a secluded setting on the banks of the Frostlie Burn, a tributary of the Teviot, and set in five acres, the house dates from 1844 and has three good-sized reception rooms, five bedrooms, plus a sixth that is being used as a study, as well as three bathrooms or shower rooms.

It makes for an ideal base for those wishing to take advantage of the wealth of recreational opportunities available in the Borders, including salmon and sea-trout fishing, riding, cycling, walking and golf.

See more property in the Scottish Borders.

Here at Country Life, we try not to harp on too much about the huge discrepancy in house prices across Britain. Do you really need to know that your house would only cost half as much if it was located 350 miles away? After all, not many of us can move our jobs, families, friends and entire lives half-way across the country for the sake of a couple of extra bedrooms, or a paddock. No matter how much we'd like to.

Every so often, though, a property comes along offering so much, for so reasonable a price, that it's impossible not to shake your head in wonder at what life would be like if you swapped your two-bedroom maisonette in Sydenham for something a little further afield. And today is one of those days, because Billerwell Farm House is on the market via Knight Frank at £825,000, and it really does seem to have it all.

The house is in the Scottish borders, a little south from Melrose near the historic town of Hawick (pronounced 'hoik', rather than 'horr-wick'; you'll need to know that if you put in an offer). Set in 14½ acres and with extensive outbuildings, the house is surrounded by what agent Edward Douglas-Home describes as ‘breathtaking Borders scenery’, comprising its own land, The Rule Water (a tributary of the River Teviot) and neighbouring farmland.

It's not just about the splendid lication, though, as Douglas Home adds: ‘The current owners have created a warm and welcoming home with well-balanced accommodation full of natural light and period character.’ The pictures here bear witness to just that: a simple, charming and homely place to live with a huge amount of space on offer.

At the heart of the house is a large, open-plan kitchen and garden room; a drawing room and dining room provide more formal entertaining space. Upstairs are five bedrooms, four of which have en-suite bath or shower rooms.

The owners have made significant improvements, including establishing good broadband connectivity. There is plenty of scope for the imagination outside, with a range of traditional stone barns and outbuildings that could be converted into all manner of uses, subject to the necessary planning consents.

The house sale also includes a section of fishing along The Rule Water. ‘It’s rare to find a house of such historical richness that remains so evidently liveable,’ adds Mr Douglas-Home. And all for the price of a maisonette in Sydenham.

Billerwell farm is for sale via Knight Frank — see more details.

At Country Life, as you'd imagine, we come across a lot of property capable of eliciting 'ooohhs' and 'aahhhs'. It's like going to a fireworks display every day.

The ooohs and aaahs are almost always of the 'good' kind, when we write about the sort of house that Queen Victoria's chaplain might live in, or Alan Titchmarsh's lovely Hampshire home, which is on the market right now.

Sometimes, though, the 'ooohs' and 'aaahs' have a different tone: instead of 'OOH-ooh-OOH!' they become, 'OH-oh....'; and this is the sound produced when you come across a seemingly idyllic home that looks like it'll bring a few headaches with it.

What is very rare, though, is for the images attached to a property listing to alternate between the 'OOH-ooh-OOHs' and the 'OH-ohs...'. But that's exactly what we found in the case of Orchil Castle, a Perthshire pile just down the road from Gleneagles, which is for sale at £2.1 million via Fine & Country.

No doubt, like us, you've already OOH-ooh-OOHed at external view of the castle, the lake and the 56 acres of Perthshire that come with the sale. We'd expect you'll make a similar noise when appreciating the gorgeous entrance hall and the strikingly pretty, boldly-decorated reception rooms.

As we flicked through the images and headed upstairs, the smiles continued. The views! The room sizes! The beautiful bay windows! The thoughtfulness of the estate agent who ran a bubble bath before taking a photo!

And then we got to the rooms which are — well — in a pretty poor state; the good OOH-ooh-OOHs stopped, the worried OH-ohs began. As gorgeous as Orchil Castle is, it'll need someone with a strong constitution, deep pockets and the will to lead a project to bring this Category B-listed Scots baronial house back to its best.

If the house has a few rough edges, that's unsurprising. Two fires during the 20th century caused a large amount of damage; in 1917, the whole place was gutted, while a 1967 fire destroyed the roof. It's had spells as a foster home, a rehab centre and a bible study retreat — and even for a time to keep pigs, as The Scotsman reported back in 2016: 'The farmer chose to live in the castle’s former laundry, and allowed his pigs and sheep to roam amongst the marble fireplaces and carved oak panelling on the ground floor of the castle.' It's a far cry from the glory days of the 20s, when King George VI — then the Duke of York — his brother George, Duke of Kent, were said to be regular visitors.

So while it's not perfect, a huge amount has been done in recent decades and for the most part Orchil is in good shape, with most of the work to be done concentrated on the second floor. The prize at the end, for whoever finishes Orchil off, feels like it'll be well worth the effort: the floorplan is a veritable Cluedo board of rooms, with particularly grand dining and drawing rooms, a morning room — with french windows out onto the grounds — and extensive basements.

One corner of the ground floor is set up as a self-contained, three-bedroom apartment, ideal for multi-generation living, or perhaps as a place to live while you carry out any work needed on the rest of the castle.

On the first floor are four bedrooms — all with their own bathrooms — and a chapel. The second floor is marked out on the floorplan and offers huge potential; at over 17,000 sq ft, this is a huge property.

This house was commissioned in 1867 by Rev John McDougall, who engaged architect Andrew Heiton Junior. Heiton was a talented, ambitious and tireless man who served for a while as city architect of Perth, designing many of the most beautiful buildings in the area.

Beyond the main house, the estate also includes a two-bedroom cottage — which you'll be happy to know has already been restored, with underfloor heating and tasteful finishes.

And just as you'd expect of any castle worthy of the name, the grounds are wonderful. There's a series of terraced lawns, a four-acre loch (complete with boathouse), a walled garden and various outbuildings. What's more, the proximity to Gleneagles brings not just world class golf and leisure facilities, but also a railway station that links directly to London, via sleeper service should you want to come up or head down overnight. Does it go without saying that a location like this might make it a splendid boutique hotel, subject to the right permissions? Or should it stay as a grand, single residence? We'll look with interest at what happens next.

Orchil Castle is for sale via Fine & Country at £2.1 million — see more details.

You might think that in today’s world, with navigation systems such as GPS, there would be no need for the lighthouse. You’d be wrong. There are around 250 still in operation today, acting as back-up systems, in case of electronic failure, and as vital visual markers.

At their peak, there were probably more than 400 lighthouses standing stoically along Britain’s coastline, from the oldest — a 2,000-year-old wonder at Dover Castle, which is the tallest and most complete standing Roman structure in the country — to the newest, a lighthouse at Dungeness built in the 1960s.

Historically, the majority of lighthouses were manned by lighthouse keepers, but their role became obsolete with the introduction of automated systems in the mid 20th century. However, in many instances, the lighthouse cottages which once housed the keepers have been converted into modern dwellings by enthusiasts and quirky property aficionados. And that brings us to the gorgeously located Bressay Lighthouse on the island of the same name in Shetland, a hundred miles and more beyond the northern coast of Scotland.

The Bressay lighthouse for sale with Savills for offers over £350,000, but its new owners are going to really want to live there (or really want to renovate and rent it out).

Even having an in-person viewing will be quite an undertaking. Unless you feel like braving the 12-14 hour ferry from Aberdeen, you’ll need to journey to Shetland by plane — which, from London, means changing planes — and then catch a ferry across to Bressay from Lerwick.

Thank goodness, then, for the internet, which can take you there with the mere click of a mouse, or the tap of a screen. You're welcome.

As well as being arguably the most picturesque 'house' we've featured so far this year, the lighthouse comes with a pleasing story. It was built by brothers David and Thomas Stevenson — the father and uncle of writer Robert Louis Stevenson, author of Treasure Island. David designed more than 30 Scottish lighthouses and was once asked by Isambard Kingdom Brunel to join his staff at the Thames Tunnel works (he could not accept the offer because he was employed elsewhere).

The lighthouse was automated in 1987 (an automatic 10-mile LED light flashes twice, every 20 seconds) and, since 1995, has been owned and managed by the Shetland Amenity Trust. The complex comprises the original, 16-metre, stone lighthouse tower, the former engine room — since converted into an artist’s studio — and two semi-detached, single-storey cottages, previously used as holiday lets.

In total, there are seven bedrooms, three bathrooms and three living spaces. Bressay’s new owners will likely want to dramatically modernise the interiors, but as it is designated as a Category B Listed Building, any work must follow the standards laid out by Historic Environment Scotland.

However, it’s on the outside where Bressay really shines (pun intended). The triangular site, enclosed by a low stone wall, faces south to south-west meaning excellent sunsets. It sits, quite obviously, on the waters edge, atop a natural stone arch that stretches outwards into the roiling sea.

Living there, on the brink of where two very different worlds meet, must surely feel like having one foot on land and the other in the water.

Bressay Lighthouse is for sale for in excess of £350,000 — see more pictures and details via Savills

‘Contrary to popular belief, many of today’s buyers aren’t necessarily seeking vast acreages, although features such as coastal or loch-side access and a sense of wilderness are increasingly sought after,’ says Luke French of Savills in Edinburgh. He cites the example of a recent off-market sale on the Sutherland coast, where 60% of interest came from European buyers. The estate was eventually acquired by a French family who are regular visitors to Scotland.

Those who missed out might well be tempted by Mr French's latest property: the secluded, 1,080-acre Corsindae Estate in Aberdeenshire, for which Savills seek ‘offers over £4.4m’.

Set amid rolling hills and rich farmland against the backdrop of the Bennachie Hills, the estate lies between the villages of Sauchen and Midmar, some 14 miles equidistant from Inverurie on the River Don and Banchory on the Dee.

The castle-like Corsindae House sits snugly within landscaped grounds that include expansive lawns, specimen trees, a walled garden and ancient woodland, all of which provide a high degree of privacy. To the west lies a loch, a haven for wildlife, with an island accessible by rowing boat and a small hexagonal grass-roofed cabin.

Inside, the house offers comfortable and spacious accommodation on four levels, including five fine reception rooms, six bedrooms and three bathrooms.

Highlights include two grand, interconnected, first-floor drawing-rooms, which together form an expansive space with magnificent views across the gardens, loch and the surrounding countryside.

Originally granted by Seton of Gordon to the second Lord Forbes in 1450, the estate centres on the Category B-listed Corsindae House, the oldest part of which was a modest tower house, completed in 1484 and rebuilt on a three-storey L-plan in the 16th century; a laundry wing was added at the rear in the 1600s.

In 1727, the Forbes family sold Corsindae to Lord Braco of the Duff family, who reimagined the house in the Queen Anne style. In the early 1800s, William Duff added the east wing, turret and entrance gates. Soon afterwards, the rounded west wing was built, thereby doubling the size of the drawing room, and the roof of the house was raised to create a service wing.

In 1928, the present owner’s father, Laurence Fyffe, inherited the estate at the age of eight. His father, then Bishop of Rangoon, was unable to live at Corsindae and, in the early 1930s, the family sold the estate to Thomas Innes of Learny, who never lived there either.

The Fyffe family continued to visit every summer and, when Innes announced plans to partially demolish the house, they bought the estate back in 1944. Fyffe and his wife, Cynthia, made Corsindae their permanent home in 1953, and set about restoring the house, which was harled and painted white to unify the appearance of the various stonework additions.

The present owner was brought up there and returned with his wife in 1989, since when they have raised their family and managed the farm and estate.

The Corsindae Estate is for sale at offers over £4.4 million — see more details.

Midlothian — £15 million

The Newliston Estate, just outside Edinburgh, is a magnificent property with a Robert Adam mansion at its heart.

Some 764 acres are available as well as the Grade A-listed house, though the vendors are happy to split the sale into two lots.

For sale via Savills — see more details.

Inverclyde — £1.45 million

Sitting proud on a cliff overlooking the sea, Shambala is a quite astonishing Japanese-style home in the vibrant coastal town of Gourock.

The location is as outstanding as the home, with perfect sunsets and a secluded, private plot. Glasgow, less than 30 miles away, is within easy reach by both road and rail, making this an easily commutable house.

For sale at £1.45 million — see more details.

Yorkshire — £5 million

The former Queen Margaret's School in Escrick, a few miles south of the centre of York, has come on to the market.

There is clearly work to be done — and money to be spent — for this Grade II*-listed, late 17th century house to begin the next phase of its life. But with 68,500 sq ft of space in the main house, plus further teaching blocks, dormitories and sporting facilities that include two swimming pools, the potential is astonishing.

For sale at around £5 million — see more details.

Perthshire — £2.2 million

Tigh An Tuir is a wonderful house in a conservation village called Strathtay, near Pitlochry.

Sweeping grounds, period features throughout and a separate cottage — plus summerhouse, tennis court, games room and bar — make this a dreamlike Highland escape.

For sale via Galbraith at £2.2m — see more details.

Bedfordshire — £1,600,000

This former gatehouse on the Rothschild Mentmore Estate is a charming family home, with five bedrooms, secluded location and parking for 10 cars.

There's also a games room in the garden, and permission is in place to build a new detached garage with another annexe above.

For sale at £1.6 million — see more pictures and details.

'As the express train hurtles north from Berwick-upon-Tweed towards Edinburgh, many passengers must have glimpsed the imposing sulhouette of Ayton Castle on its wooded ridge above the River Eye and sighed "Scotland at last"'. So wrote the architecture critic Michael Hall in Country Life in 1993 when telling the tale of Ayton Castle.

Three decades on, its visual impact is just as great; this time, though, it appears in Country Life not as a 'masterpiece of the baronial revival' (as Hall called it), but as a grand country home. It came on to the market in 2025 with GSC Grays and Knight Frank at £3.25 million, and has now been bought by Alan Carr, the comedian, presenter and winner of Celebrity Traitors at a different Scottish castle, Ardross.

'Some men when they have a midlife crisis buy a Lamborghini or grow a ponytail, but me — I want my very own castle,' Carr told the BBC.

'Since I was a boy in Northampton, I've always dreamt big, and have always been enchanted with the history and romance of a stately home and as I turn 50, I feel it's my time.

'All I want is a turret to call my own — get me over that drawbridge.'

Ayton doesn't have a drawbridge — at least, not yet. Carr's transformation of the place is about to begin, and apparently will be filmed for a Disney+ programme with the working title Castle Man.

The house, six miles north of Berwick, was designed by James Gillespie Graham in 1845, and represents what can happen when a great architect, an ideal location and a patron with — to be blunt — deep pockets come together. It was the dream of a man named William Mitchell-Innes, who served as the First Cashier of the Royal Bank of Scotland, and later as a director.

The death of a cousin saw him inherit land to go with his wealth, and he wasn't shy about spending it: 'His means were ample, and his liberality in distributing them commensurature therewith,' ran his obituary in the Berwickshire Journal on his death in 1860. 'He maintained a princely establishment, and his generous hospitality was his most striking characteristic.'

Everyone needs a friend like that. And every architect needs a client like that, giving Gillespie Graham 'the advantage of an empty site' and 'an enthusiastic patron', as Hall put it.

The castle that was created is a symphony in sandstone, with turrets, parapets, gables and a grand hall, the very picture of the baronial revival of the 19th century, and its visual impact today is essentially the same as it was when first complete, as noted in its Category A listing with Historic Scotland.

That's not to say it hasn't been improved and updated over the years: it was enlarged in the 1860s by David Bryce and James Maitland Wardrop, and in 1873 the main corridor and hall were decorated by Scotland's leading interior designers of the day, Bonnar and Carfrae, who were so pleased with their work that they proudly signed it.

The house has not been changed since then but it has been preserved, not least over the past decade by the outgoing owners. They upgraded the house, undertaking some building work, carried out significant re-plumbing and re-wiring, created a new formal garden, and installed a miniature railway.

That's right: a miniature railway — complete with platforms, sheds and ticket office — that runs on a 10 1/4-inch gauge, snaking a 600m-long path through the grounds.

It's a shame that the railway doesn't also run through the house, because the place is so enormous it might be good to have some help getting around: there are 17 bedrooms and over 33,000 sq ft are on offer in the main house alone, with a dizzying array of spaces.

From chapels to offices, billiard rooms to ball rooms, libraries to laundries, the floorplan feels almost endless, with every room beautifully finished and full of original character features that have clearly been cherished and restored for many generations.

There is one original feature which is long-gone, however: the original mantelpiece in the dining room, which is now in a museum in Connecticut. The reason? 150 years ago Mark Twain came to visit Ayton Castle, and loved the mantel so much that he apparently 'insisted' on buying it and shipping it back home to the USA. It's there to this day in pride of place in the Mark Twain House & Museum in the city of Hartford.

The sale might not have included that mantel, but it did include 160 acres, plus a series of cottages, lodges, stables and more, some of which are let out and produce an income for the estate — as does the livery business run from the stables.

Like the main house, some of this is listed: the garden and parklands have a Category B designation, while the Dovecot — which was also thought to be designed by Gillespie Graham — is Category A listed. Alan Carr will walk in to a place that has been handsomely looked after, and deserves to be treated just as well in the future. After all, as the official listing says, it is 'not only is this the most significant building in the parish, but also, one of the most significant within the country as a whole.'

Ayton Castle was on for sale at £3.25 million in 2025.

Despite a slowdown in activity within the niche Scottish estates market due to geopolitical uncertainty, proposed UK tax changes, anxiety surrounding Scotland’s Land Reform Bill and a reduced appetite among corporate buyers for carbon-related investment, leading agents report solid interest from individual buyers in sensibly priced Scottish estates with diversified income streams.

With relatively few proper country estates for sale this year, the launch onto the market, for the first time in more than 40 years, of the historic, 3,459-acre Portmore estate, situated a mile from the conservation village of Eddleston and five miles north of Peebles in the Scottish Borders, is bound to cause a stir in the marketplace.

For selling agent Emma Chalmers of Galbraith in Perth, who invites ‘offers over £15 million’ for the estate as a whole, ‘Portmore has it all’: a Category A-listed Scottish Baronial mansion, beautiful gardens and grounds, seven estate houses, farmland, hill ground and woodland, all within easy commuting distance of Edinburgh, 18 miles away.

Rated of outstanding architectural and archaeological interest by Historic Scotland, Portmore is set within the upland valley of the Eddleston Water, a landscape dominated by the straight narrow channel of the watercourse, which flows through high-sided valleys from north to south towards the Tweed.

Distinctive features of Portmore’s higher ground are the scheduled late-prehistoric fort of Northshield Rings, with its complex ditch and rampart defences, and Portmore Loch, a large reservoir created from an existing body of water in the 1870s.

The original Portmore estate was established in the 18th century when the Earls of Portmore acquired a sizeable tract of the Blackbarony estate in about 1735. In the late 18th century, Portmore, its farms and fields, were bought by Alexander Mackenzie, whose son, Colin, a close friend of Sir Walter Scott, established the parkland and woodland there, although the house itself wasn’t built until many years after his death.

Colin Mackenzie was succeeded by his son, William Forbes Mackenzie, in 1830, and, in 1850, the imposing red-sandstone mansion was built by David Bryce in his signature Scottish Baronial style. Following a major house fire in the early 1880s, the whole interior was remodelled and a family wing added to the north in 1883. The Mackenzie family left Portmore in about 1890, whereupon the farms, house and shoot were leased out, and, in 1896, the house, grounds and wider estate were put up for sale.

Aerial photographs taken in the 1980s show that, although the essential structure of the designed landscape survived in the 20th century, the core garden fell into disrepair. However, the sale of the estate in 1979 marked a turning point in Portmore’s fortunes and, in spite of another serious fire in 1986, the trend since then has been one of repair and restoration, with the original Victorian lawns reinstated and a central pond added.

According to Historic Scotland, ‘perhaps the most impressive component of the designed landscape is the restored walled garden with its Victorian glasshouses and outbuildings, carefully designed and planted by the present owner, and now the main attraction for open days organised under the Scotland’s Gardens Scheme’.

Portmore House itself offers more than 17,200sq ft of well-proportioned accommodation on three main floors, including five ground-floor reception rooms — organ room (with original organ), drawing room, library, dining room and sitting room — together with a family-friendly kitchen and various domestic offices.

A billiard room, five bedrooms, playroom, guest annexe, wine cellars and caretaker’s flat are located on the lower ground floor, which can easily be closed off when not in use. The grand principal bedroom suite, two further bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms, plus seven more bedrooms and five bathrooms are located on the first floor, with an 11th bedroom on the second floor.

The farming operation, run in hand with a farm manager, is centred on the 2,253-acre Boreland Farm to the south of Portmore House, with the focus on managing a two-flock sheep enterprise and a herd of 70 suckler cows. The farm comprises a traditional five-bedroom farmhouse, a farm manager’s house and a practical range of modern and traditional farm buildings. There are five further residential dwellings on the estate. A highly regarded pheasant shoot, which ran for many years, has recently ceased to operate following the retirement of the longterm gamekeeper.

Portmore is for sale with Galbraith for offers over £15 million. For more information, click here

Here's a look at some of what you'll find inside.

A castle reborn

In the first of two articles, John Goodall charts the emergence of Glamis Castle in Angus as one of the landmark buildings in Scottish architecture.

Wild at heart

Jack Watkins pays tribute to The Thirty-Nine Steps author John Buchan, still acclaimed as the master of suspense 150 years after his birth.

Property Market

Penny Churchill finds plenty to interest north-of-the-Border buyers, from a Baronial estate to a peaceful private island.

Properties of the Week

Holly Kirkwood shares unusual homes for sale in Scotland, including a former lifeboat station.

Telling it how it was

The radical Glasgow Boys took the 19th-century art world by storm as they brought a freshness and verve to simple scenes.

Come shell or high water

The wild and rugged Scottish coastline is home to top-quality shellfish. Nick Hammond takes us on a tour of the hotspots.

Oh, honey honey

Sarah Todd savours the flavour of honeyberries, the Scottish superfood oozing vitamin C.

Northern exposure

Self-sufficiency is helping to keep 19th-century Inverewe gardens in Wester Ross at the peak of their powers, reveals Caroline Donald.

Arts & antiques

Bonhams art specialist Leo Webster tells Carla Passino why his most prized possession is a well-travelled Macdonald kilt.

And much more

Argyll & Bute — £850,000

A breathtaking location, four bedrooms in the main house, a string of outbuildings and nine acres, at the sort of price you'd pay for a three-bedroom house in the home counties.

For sale with Knight Frank. See more pictures and details for this property.

Hampshire — £3,950,000

Over 6,000sq ft of space in this beautifully-refurbished home near Stockbridge, with views over the Test Valley.

For sale with Savills. See more pictures and details for this property.

North Yorkshire — £5,000,000

Grade I-listed, 15 bedrooms, 12 receptions rooms and 83 acres: Howsham Hall is everything you could hope to find.

For sale with Strutt & Parker. See more pictures and details for this property.

West Sussex — £2,950,000

A five-bedroom Wells house in a village not far from Storrington, with five bedrooms, grounds of over an acre, and a fine swimming pool.

For sale with GL & Co. See more pictures and details for this property.

Suffolk — £1,195,000

In a charming rural village between Bury and Newmarket, this huge thatched home of almost 4,000 sq ft has a great mix of old and new.

For sale with Bedfords. See more pictures and details for this property.

Highlands — £1,900,000

Views to die for from this incredibly-located house just a few miles from Pitlochry.

For sale with Savills. See more pictures and details for this property.

Modernist architecture might be at its most noticeable in cities, in the blocks of flats and shopping centres, the libraries and factories, the health centres and offices. But it was just as much a thing of the countryside.

'Open and wild landscape often inspires Modernist country houses,' says John Goodall, Country Life's architectural editor. 'Their great delight is that they are so open to the world beyond.'

Scotland has a number of them, adds John: the 1930s Gribloch, in Stirlingshire; the recently-restored High Sunderland House of the 1950s; and the early 21st-century Corrour Lodge.

And then there is the example on this page, an iconic example of this stark, angular, pared-back design ethos amid a beautifully unspoilt woodland in the heart of the Scottish Borders: the Bernat Klein Studio. It's an award-winning design by a celebrated architect, in a magnificent setting, about an hour's drive from Edinburgh.

You might be shocked to hear that it's about to come up for auction with a guide price of just £18,000. That shock will have subsided by the time you reach the bottom of this page.

The Bernat Klein Studio was built in 1972 by the architect Peter Womersley, who was commissioned by Bernat Klein himself. Klein, a Serbian-born artist and textile designer, moved to Britain after the Second World War, and after a few years in various spots he settled in the Scottish Borders town of Galashiels where he set up a weaving and textile business.

And that business was good. Klein was soon creating textiles for companies including Marks & Spencer, but by the early 1960s — after winning a commission from Coco Chanel — he moved in to the world of high fashion, with Dior, Balenciaga and Yves Saint Laurent among his clients.

Throughout all this, he remained based in the Borders, which was also home to Womersley, a modernist architect with an international reputation. Womersley used Frank Lloyd Wright's house Fallingwater as his inspiration for the Bernat Klein Studio, creating what is described as a 'very fine sculptural late Modernist building' by the assessors of in Historic Environment Scotland, who awarded the building Category A status in July 2002, following an initial B-grade listing in 1994.

It's not hard to see why they poured praise on this RIBA-award-winning, two-storey concrete and brick structure, with its frameless glazing, horizontal cantilevers and central service core that frees the perimeter up for the creative work that once took place within these walls. The auctioneers, Savills, describe it rather beautifully as a 'masterpiece of structural elegance' that is 'at the intersection of industrial craftsmanship and artistic vision.'

The Bernat Klein Studio's Category A listing is both blessing and curse, since it demands that the building find someone willing to sink in the funds needed to repair and restore it to its 1970s heyday.

As the pictures from agents Savills show, this will be no small task; the 20th Century Society recently estimated that it would need £2.5-3 million to be spent. And that is noted as 'a minimum'.

The 20th Century Society are part of a coalition hoping to buy and restore what they describe as 'one of Scotland’s most important twentieth-century buildings', with the National Trust for Scotland and Scottish Historic Buildings Trust and the Bernat Klein Foundation also involved.

The coalition will certainly be one of the bidders, though it seems likely that there will be others, particularly given that permission was granted in 2006 to convert the studio to residential use. Not that that permission has been enough to save the building in the past two decades, during which time it has been for the most part left derelict and decaying — the result of successive efforts biting off more than they can chew, for concrete restoration is notoriously tricky.

The razor wire on the bridge, and the half-built kitchenette, tell that story more eloquently than any words can. And as John Goodall points out, seeing iconic Modernist architecture in such a state is sadly common: 'There are also Modernist ruins such as St Peter's Seminary at Cardross by Gillespie, Kidd & Coia, which is an object lesson in the complexities of managing modern ruins.'

One thing is certain: whoever takes on the challenge must do so with their eyes open. 'This is definitely not a project to be undertaken lightly,' says the 20th Century Society's co-director Catherine Croft, ' or without a huge depth of specialist expertise and very considerable financial resources.'

The Bernat Klein Studio near Selkirk comes up for auction via Savills on July 30th, 2025. See more pictures and details.

Do you like the idea of complete and utter solitude? If so, then Insh Island, in the Inner Hebrides off Scotland's west coast, is a 90-acre private island up for sale for offers over £500,000 with Savills — and it offers exactly that.

Near the smallest inhabited Island in Scotland, Easdale — which is best known as the host of the highly competitive World Stone Skimming Championship — the island is one of the Slate Islands. It is undoubtedly a paradise for nature enthusiasts, as seals and dolphins swim in the surrounding Atlantic Ocean.

Featuring a natural freshwater spring, sheltered coves and wild coastal trails, it is, however, the lack of light pollution that appeals to me most about the island.

The idea of being able to gaze at the stars in the utter pitch black, with no other soul around, would be a privilege not many get to experience. After which, you could trek across the unspoiled land to go and cosy up in the only building on the island, the ‘cave house’ which is located on the north western coast line.

For what it's worth, the existence of that cave house might potentially open up the option of putting some sort of dwelling here. Buyers would need to have their solicitors investigate the various permissions required, but the general principle of being able to replace an existing dwelling could apply here.

Cameron Ewer, the property agent, notes that the island 'is only accessible by private boat or helicopter', which begs a couple of questions. First, unless there were a concealed tunnel, how else would it be accessible? And second, where would you find a helicopter pilot brave enough to land on a rocky dot on the map like this?

But we can forgive Ewer his excitement about Insh, because we're excited too for what he calls ‘one of Scotland's last untouched private islands.'

'As someone who appreciates the value of natural beauty,' he adds, 'this is just too good an opportunity for any like minded investor to ignore.’

For more information on Insh Island, visit Savills website.

With £125,000 to spend, you have a lot of options.

Perhaps a nice new Range Rover? They start at around £105,000, but by the time you've ooh-ed and ahh-ed your way through the options list then £125,000 is probably about where you'll land.

Already got a nice car, but fancy a trip that you'll remember until the day you die? There's a lot to be said for making priceless memories, and with this budget you could take a group of friends and family on one of the world's great yacht charters; travelling the near-deserted islands of Indonesia aboard the Kudanil Explorer, for example, starts at £129,000.

Or how about this: a garage in Fulham for £120,000. It looks a very nice garage indeed, on a good street, and near the Tube at Parson's Green.

It is, however, just a garage, and not an entire island... which leads us to the true topic of this piece: an island called Eilean Loch Oscair, which is listed via Knight Frank for offers over £125,000.

It's listed as an 'island croft' of 9.98 acres (considering the impossibility of making such measurements with accuracy, let's just round that up to ten) that sits in the waters off the north west coast of the Island of Lismore, in the Firth of Lorne, just across the water from Appin, and a few miles north of Oban, making it a fairly accessible spot in Western Isles terms.

While there's no house or even a bothy on the island, it is a croft, and thus able to support grazing and agriculture as well as be a place you can stay. The Scottish government's Crofting Commission has guidelines on what you can and can't do with this crofts, and it'd certainly be worth checking to make sure you're happy.

You'll also have to be happy sharing the island with the local seal colony.

What Eilean Loch Oscair definitely can't offer, though, is a community in and of itself. Thankfully. Lismore is just a short hop in your boat (clearly you're going to need your own boat), and it's a charming island that was once an ancient Celtic Christian settlement.

It's an island which currently supports a population of 200, with village store, a post office and a village hall, as well as a passenger ferry and a vehicle ferry across to either Port Appin or Oban, both of which (and the latter in particular) are thriving spots with shops. hotels and restaurants. What more could you need?

Eilean Loch Oscair is for sale via Knight Frank — see more details and pictures.

In 2009, Mark Gibson, the owner of the glorious, 2,850-acre Craigengillan estate — which lies in a wooded fold of the hills above the fabled River Doon, two miles from the former mining town of Dalmellington and 16 miles from Ayr — was voted Country Life’s Countryman of the Year, in recognition of his remarkable revival of this historic Ayrshire estate.

A year later, the magazine’s then Architectural Writer Mary Miers traced the remarkable story of Craigengillan and its principal house, which had stood untouched and almost derelict for the best part of a century when, in 1999, Mr Gibson bought the estate previously owned by the McAdam family for almost 400 years. Having finally decided to retire, Mr Gibson is proud to pass on a thriving and viable estate, which is now on the market through Knight Frank in Edinburgh at a guide price of £5 million for the whole.

Craigengillan is situated at the northern end of the Galloway Forest on the upper reaches of the Doon, which surges through a spectacular gorge to flow for several miles through parkland, encircled by hills on three sides. In 1611, Craigengillan was granted to a yeoman branch of the McAdam family. The earliest part of the present house was remodelled in the 1770s, when it was home to John McAdam, a brilliant engineer and innovator, who, with his cousin, John Loudun McAdam, pioneered macadam — a forerunner to tarmac — and became successful road and bridge builders.

McAdam died in 1790, leaving Craigengillan to his son Quintin. Surviving letters date Quintin’s five-bay addition to the house, which involved the removal of the existing stables. His handsome new stable court, built in 1802, is a Classical square entered through a tall archway surmounted by a clock tower with Venetian windows and an octagonal cupola. In May 1803, he was preoccupied with works to level the forecourt at the end of a new two-mile drive ‘up to my house alongst the river side’, for which he built a handsome stone bridge and Gothick ‘porters lodge’ in 1804.

In 1820, Quintin’s daughter, Jean, inherited Craigengillan and, in 1827, married the Hon Frederick Cathcart. They turned the house into a more fashionable gentleman’s residence, adding a pair of projecting bays linked by a glazed passage on the entrance front, with lower wings enclosing the forecourt on either side.

They also laid out the formal gardens and built a walled kitchen garden, bridges and a remarkable ice-house complex. Jean McAdam Cathcart died childless in 1878 and Craigengillan passed to her kinsman Alexander Frederick McAdam, a notable sportsman and horse breeder, who married Charlotte Coleman in 1886, but died, aged 36, in 1901.

Soon afterwards, Charlotte engaged the internationally renowned design firm, Maison Jansen of Paris, to carry out a total refit of Craigengillan House. The result could be taken for a fashionable townhouse in the French capital, its showpiece the elegant stair hall with its sensuously curving staircase.

Highlights include the saloon, the intimate library and the panelled morning room decorated with silk damask hangings, carved and gilded woodwork and over-door paintings of hunting scenes. In 1945, Charlotte married Dr Alfred Bulkeley Gavin, the son of the general manager of Dalmellington Iron Company. Following her death, at the age of 98 in 1952, he transferred Craigengillan to a family company, from which Mr Gibson acquired it almost half a century later.

During his 25-year tenure, the house and stable court, both listed Category A, have been completely restored, estate cottages repaired, the farm resuscitated and public access reintroduced. Mr Gibson’s chief passion, however, has been the landscape, where his tireless efforts at restoring, reclaiming, replanting and rebuilding have created a model of environmental management.

Tom Stewart-Moore, who is handling the sale, points to an impressive array of estate assets assembled by its dedicated owner. These include the restored seven-bedroom main house with its self-contained, three-bedroom wing; the restored gatehouse, farmhouse and steading, two holiday cottages and two further period houses.

The sale also includes the splendid stable block, now the setting for a successful livery business run in partnership between the vendor and the stable manager; an organic farming enterprise with an in-hand sheep flock; 700 acres of young and older native woodland; plus extensive wildlife habitats, 2½ miles of trout and salmon fishing on the Doon, and Dark Sky Park status within the UNESCO Galloway & Southern Ayrshire Biosphere Reserve — the whole set within an 18th-century designed landscape.

The Craigengillan Estate is for sale with Knight Frank for £5 million. For more information and pictures, click here.

Buying a property is often a battle between head and heart: do you go for a sensible, practical place to live, or a dramatic and beautiful property that sets your heart aflutter every time you come home?

For our money — and most likely yours, too, if you're reading this story — the pull of the romantic will always win. And property doesn't get any more romantic than the utterly gorgeous Shuna Island, which is currently for sale via Sotheby's International Realty and Knight Frank for £5.5m.

Three miles long and a mile and a half wide, Shuna is part of a group called the Slate Islands in the Inner Hebrides, a collection which also includes Seil, Easdale, Luing and Torsa. Confusingly, there's also another Shuna Island away off to the north beyond Oban; online maps will point you to the other one first, but the Shuna that's for sale is the one at Loch Shuna. And that's a very good thing too, because this is the sort of Scottish island that has everything you could dream of.

There are glorious sandy beaches fringed by rocky coves that look like ideal for18th century smugglers hauling their booty ashore. There is wild open land beneath huge skies where golden eagles soar, and rippling waves where you'll see the porpoises dart and leap. There are ancient burial sites, a shipwreck, a notorious whirlpool — Corryvreckan — in the seas not far away. And, of course, there is a castle.

We say 'of course', but actually the castle is, relatively speaking, a new addition to Shuna. It was build 115 years ago by an adventurer called George Alexander MacLean Buckley, a New Zealander by birth who'd made a fortune in Australia, went on expeditions with Ernest Shackleton and saw the island as an ancestral home in the making. There are turrets, crenellations and battlements — this is the sort of fantasy castle you'd find in Ivanhoe,. It's clear that Buckley was an incurable romantic, so of course he loved it here.

The castle apparently fell into disrepair in the 1980s and is in need of serious work — something which, subject to permissions, makes for an opportunity to turn the island into a unique tourist destination. There is already tourism here in any case, with a string of houses with names like 'The Garden House', 'Oakwood Cottage' and 'The Forge'.

In total there are 27 bedrooms-worth of accommodation able to sleep 52 people, of which Shuna Farmhouse has in recent years been the main residence of the island's owners, Viscountess Selby and her son Edward Gully, whose family have owned the place for eight decades.

Most of the island — over 600 acres — is made up of rough-grazing that sustains a large flock of 230 or so sheep, but there's also a good 300 acres of woodland and foreshore. It is, in other words, both island fantasy and going concern — and that's probably the best news of all about Shuna. Yes, it's dramatic and romantic and beautiful — but there's enough potential to suggest that this could be a place to buy with head as well as heart.

Shuna Island is for sale via Sotheby's International Realty and Knight Frank at £5.5 million.

If you are going to name your home ‘The Haven’, you had better have the goods to back that up. According to the dictionary, a haven is a place of safety and refuge. I also believe it is a place of tranquility and beauty. Not always the easiest ingredients to perfect in a property.

But looking at An Cala, the Scots Gaelic translation for The Haven, it is not impossible. The property, for sale with Strutt and Parker for £775,000, is quite unlike anything I have ever seen north of the border.

Situated on an inlet near Oban on Scotland’s western coast, the house offers five bedrooms and four reception rooms, plus some tantalising gardens.

Originally three properties, An Cala was combined in the 1930s before its renovation by the current owners, who have lived there for the past 40 years. The original conversion was conducted by Col Arthur Murray and his wife, the actress Faith Celli (famed for her role as Peter Pan in London’s West End).

Murray and Celli’s conversion not only created this 3,800sq ft home, but also the gardens, which were designed by the celebrated Thomas Mawson & Sons. So beautiful are they, and were they, that they have featured on the cover of Country Life and in The Times.

Situated on the shore of the Firth of Lorn, the gardens have long been a member of Scotland’s Garden Scheme, and feature a waterfall, lily ponds, a wild garden with glorious Azaleas, Japanese flowering cherries, indigenous rock outcrops and plenty of space to sit and enjoy the glorious view. In all, 2.9 acres

Inside, the home has been fitted to a high standard, with a pleasing mix of Scottish period flair and modern comfort.

Set over two floors, the heart of the property is occupied by a large kitchen/breakfast room with island, a double-height drawing room, conservatory, dining room and sitting room. Upstairs, you’ll find five bedrooms, four of which come with sea views.

The property is located on the Isle of Seil, with the mainland reached by the Clachan Bridge. The nearby village of Ellenabeich offers a shop, oyster bar, restaurant and brewery, as well as ferries to the other islands. Oban itself offers plenty of amenities, as well as trains to Glasgow and beyond.

An Cala is for sale with Strutt & Parker for offers in excess of £775,000. For more information and pictures, click here.

The question is always a simple one, but the answer is difficult. What would you do if you won the lottery? Would you quit your job? Most probably, yes. Would you move to somewhere a bit warmer? Most probably, yes. Would you also buy several thousand acres of pristine Scottish countryside and turn it into a natural oasis? Quite niche, but possibly.

If your answer to the final question was ‘yes that sounds nice’, then look no further than the Cally Estate in Dumfries and Galloway, which comes with 2,780 acres of land, glorious land, and also three farmhouses and a cottage. Yours through Goldcrest Land & Forestry Group for offers in excess of £7 million.

What are you getting for your £7 million? A lot of land in one of the most beautiful parts of the British Isles, basically. The estate is currently managed as a whole, but consists of three farms — Murrayton, Culreoch and Lagg — that are principally used to rear livestock. There is fertile arable land, there is woodland, and there are hills.

There is also water. The Little Water of Fleet and the Big Water of Fleet are two rivers that run through the estate, which converge to form The Water of Fleet. Running water and glorious hills — it could all be yours.

What would you do with it? There is plenty of scope for sporting potential, according to the agents, if that is your thing. You could also just plant lots of trees and sell some carbon credits if you’d prefer. Or you could continue farming. Or you could just walk around for hours on your own private piece of the Galloway Forest Park. With 2,780 acres, the possibilities are endless.

There are also some houses to look after. The central property on the estate is Murrayton House, which offers seven bedrooms and is in need of some modernisation. Furthermore, there is Culreoch Farmhouse (three bedrooms, in need of some modernisation), Lagg Cottage (three bedrooms), and Cruffock Cottage (two bedrooms).

There is no doubt that taking on the Cally Estate would be a project, but it would be a worthwhile one. Creating your dream home in the heart of 2,700 acres of prime Scotland seems a worthy use of that lottery money, and there’s plenty of spare beds for people to come and visit when you’re done.

The Cally Estate is for sale with Goldcrest Land & Forestry Group. For more information and pictures, click here

Do you ever feel all at sea? Perhaps what’s missing in your life is a place to call home. How about a historic lighthouse, then — the B-listed Holborn Head Lighthouse has been renovated into a cosy home, which could be your guiding light in even the stormiest of times. The three-bedroom house in Scrabster, Caithness, is now on the market through Galbraith for offers over £450,000 and is ideal for those who like heights, dislike people and are partial to a sporadic splattering of salty sea spray.

The Stevenson lighthouse looks over Scrabster beach — which is much nicer looking than it is sounding — and towards Dunnet Head, Orkney and the Old Man of Hoy. Phiddy Robertson of Galbraith, who is handling the sale, says the property retains ‘all the historic interest and charm of the original lighthouse, while adding modern conveniences’.

The secluded lighthouse offers the perfect opportunity to get away from it all. As a city dweller myself, I view its remote location with a potent, all-encompassing envy that makes me rethink my life choices. Constructed in 1862, it was permanently discontinued for practical use in 2003, and the building was purchased by the current owners in 2006. The former lighthouse keepers’ flats and tower, which has kept its original ladder staircases and brass fittings, have been converted. Additional insulation, underfloor heating and window openings have been added and solid oak and Caithness flagstone pay homage to the natural surroundings throughout.

The three storey tower is the standout of the property. It has an office on its first level, a room with hatch access to an external walkway on the second, and the former lens dome on the level above. The warning light that once saved the lives of sailors bound for northernmost Scotland has been removed, and the room is now an outlook and observatory.

The grounds extend to around 1.1 acres and are enclosed by entirely unnecessary, neat stone walls — which would be perfect for keeping people out, if there were in fact any around at all in the first place. The gardens lie, for the most part, to the north of the house and include a BBQ area and viewpoint. But the best part of all? Perfect for a visit from a loud-mouthed relative that you’d prefer to stash out of earshot, the property’s small garden studio. It’s a cosy fully independent hideaway that Foghorn Leghorn would have jumped at the chance to live in due to its former life as the lighthouse’s fog-horn shed. I say...

Holborn Head Lighthouse is on the market with Galbraith.

It is a dream of mine to live by a river in Scotland. The history, the scenery and the sound of running water are simply too much to resist, as is the relative isolation. I have been a creature of the city almost my entire life, but I cannot do it for my whole life. And hopefully I won’t have to.

I like to daydream what kind of house by a river in Scotland I might choose. There are always the impossible options, the multi-million pound mansions, manors and castles that exist north of the border. But there are also things on a more affordable end of the scale, such as Carnliath, near Pitlochry in Perthshire. You can purchase it by getting in contact with Galbraith, who are seeking offers in excess of £625,000.

From the outside, Carnliath looks nothing more than a cosy Scottish cottage. All the traditional features are here, such as the slate roof, the white paint on the extension, and the stone façade. As Scottish as Scottish can be.

Inside, however, things are slightly different. The current owners have clearly spent a lot of time (and with good taste) improving and modernising the property. As a result, the interiors are luscious, elegant and contemporary. They also have an eye for funky wallpaper, which is always a good sign.

Carnliath offers three bedrooms and three reception rooms over its two floors. The bedrooms occupy the two floors of the original cottage, while the reception rooms, which include the large open plan kitchen/dining room, can be found in the extension on the side. The kitchen, I think we can agree, is a work of art.

But the house is only half of the equation. We also need a river and, thankfully, we have one. The Tay, one of Scotland’s premiere salmon rivers, flows pretty much past the front door, and the resulting sound and vision can be enjoyed from the garden year round, should you so wish.

The gardens of Carnliath are a perfect place to relax, with a mix of patio, lawn, and borders. The home as a whole is designed for a social occasion and the garden is no different. In a house as nice as this one, it shouldn’t be too hard to get your friends to come and visit.

Carnliath is for sale with Galbraith for offers in excess of £625,000. For more information and pictures, click here.

There must be something quite special about the name Kime. Our esteemed interiors editor Giles Kime, is nothing short of a master of taste, charm and style, and he has effortlessly curated the glorious soft-furnishings of this very magazine for almost a decade now. We certainly can’t remember him putting a single foot wrong.

Robert Kime is of no relation, but was equally skilled when it comes to taste and style. He worked on Highgrove and Clarence House for the then Prince of Wales. He has been lionised many times in this magazine. He created the interiors of this fabulous townhouse in Edinburgh, for sale with Knight Frank for £2.9 million.

It’s important to stop every now and then to take the time to appreciate a good tapestry. We need more tapestries. Tapestries in the drawing room. Tapestries in the dining room. We even have a tapestry in the bathroom, which seems like a humidity issue, but I digress.

This seven-bedroom Georgian townhouse is located on one of the grandest terraces of Edinburgh’s New Town, and was designed by the celebrated architect William Henry Playfair. Laid out over four floors, the property is a period delight, with a wealth of charming architectural features such as ornate plasterwork, fine cornicing, and colourful wallpapers. A highlight for me is the free-standing marble bath.

The building's own architecture and its interiors work in perfect symphony, which is unsurprising given Kime's involvement. The arched entrance hallway is sublime. The skylight at the roof of the stairs. All of it is so effortlessly grand and, yet, comforting.

The property also features a large terraced garden that benefits from direct access to the neighbouring Regent Gardens. Edinburgh is, of course, Scotland’s capital and has more amenities than I could possibly list.

This property on Royal Terrace is for sale with Knight Frank for £2.9 million. For more information and pictures, click here

It is nothing if not a nice day outside, and when it is a nice day outside I like to think of places I would rather be than typing emails on my computer inside. These include, but are not limited to, places such as: the park, a beer garden, the South of France, The Alps (Austrian, French, Italian, but not Swiss) and the shores of a loch in Scotland.

Annoyingly, the yoke of Capitalism demands that I remain in situ, doing the emails, so instead I must fantasise. Luckily, the kind people of Galbraith sent me this rather charming former bothy called Waterfall Cottage, which is for sale for offers in excess of £350,000. It falls firmly under the ‘shores of a loch in Scotland’ category of places I would rather be.

As discussed, Waterfall Cottage is a former bothy that has now been transformed into a comfortable single-storey home with four bedrooms. Its hillside position means it has excellent views over the surrounding countryside, including Loch Tay, and the 2.45 acre garden extends right down to the shoreline. The gardens also feature a mature orchard with a variety of fruiting trees.

The rooms within Waterfall Cottage make the most of that view, none more so than the sunroom, which offers a triple aspect. The property also benefits from a galley kitchen, a sitting/dining room and two bathrooms.

The property is situated just to the south west of the village of Fernan and close to Kenmore, where you’ll find a primary school, general store with post office and the well-known Kenmore Hotel.

For those into the more adventurous side of things, a whole host of water-based activities can be enjoyed on the loch itself, and the area is famous for its salmon fishing on the River Tay as well as trout fishing in the loch. There are also lots of opportunities for walks, riding, golf and cycling. I think I would just sit and enjoy the nice view from the balconies. At least on a day like today.

Waterfall Cottage is for sale with Galbraith for offers in excess of £350,000. For more information and pictures, click here

Last year’s news that the Church of Scotland was to sell dozens of its churches — and halls and manses — might have come as a revelation. However, shrinking congregations and growing secularism lead to drastic measures as costs go up and revenue comes down. Citing an almighty drop in members and minister numbers, especially over the past 20 years, a spokesperson points out that pruning property assets ‘is believed to be necessary in order to deliver sustainable and realistic new expressions of ministry and church and to ensure all of our buildings are suitable for the needs of mission in the 21st century’.

The upshot is a sale portfolio endowed with architectural works of art. Right now, that includes the pinkish harled façades and elegant pinnacles of Drumoak Parish Church, Aberdeenshire, which was built in the 1830s to designs by Archibald Simpson, and the pared-back Classicism of Alves Church, set in a rustic spot halfway between Elgin and Forres.

The Grade A-listed Old High Church at Inverness, on the market again for offers over £150,000 after a sale fell through, is of immense significance as the oldest church in the city, standing on a riverside site with an even more ancient provenance. Deeply entwined with Scotland’s past, fragments of its structure, most of which was rebuilt in the 1770s, date to the 14th century.

And there are many more, with even more eye-catching prices: St Michael’s in Crieff, an elegant 1882 building with a superb bell tower, is listed at ‘offers over £170,000’, Dryfesdale and Trinity Parish Church in Lockerbie is up for ‘offers over £65,000’, and over on the Isle of Arran, the historic, stone-built Kilmory Church has a price tag of just £40,000.

The catch? Most of the listings for churches note that while conversion for some purposes — childcare, use as a day centre, museum, gallery or public library — won’t need change of consent, anything else will need permission from the local authorities.

Furthermore, the conversion costs can be huge and the problems to be fixed extensive; a note on the listing for Dryfesdale and Trinity Parish Church warns oninmously that 'the upper balcony areas are currently supported by structural props and there will be no access to the balcony areas or below the supported balcony.' Strict safety measures are in place, and anyone coming to view must 'do so at their own risk'.

Still, given the prices, there is plenty of scope — and these are hugely attractive as most might be. ‘Churches have a unique buyer type,’ observes Tom Stewart-Moore, head of Knight Frank rural agency, Scotland, ‘who see the conversion of a historical building such as this as a project of passion. Some buyers may be fortunate enough to have deep pockets, but others will very much have a budget to work to. It might seem as if the asking prices are low, but, with higher building costs, the heritage and planning implications, and, of course, the general state of repair of the building at the point of purchase, there is a lot for a buyer to think about’.

Annabel Blackett, associate in the country-house department at Strutt & Parker, covering Scotland and the North of England, concurs. ‘Acquiring a church can be risky and expensive. Most are in rural areas and gone are the days of the more commercial ventures,’ she says, ‘but it does give communities an opportunity to purchase churches for their own use. Buyers from abroad are especially interested in domestic conversion.’

These landmark structures, once at the heart of their communities, can be rehabilitated as unusual homes, rousing architectural ingeniousness in layout and interiors: the former church at Avoch on the Black Isle, a Scotland Home of the Year contender, now boasts triple-height rooms.

Others might lend themselves to renewal as libraries, cafés, theatres and cinemas, offices, cultural hubs, Arts and music venues and even as extensions to existing hospitality businesses. In 2024, the owners of the luxury Fife Arms Hotel in Aberdeenshire bought Braemar’s village ‘Kirk’, an 1860s Gothic rendition in stark, snecked granite.

Conversion comes with caveats, however. John Sanders, partner at Simpson & Brown Architects in Edinburgh, points out that there are practicalities to heed when adapting churches for different uses: ‘Scottish Building Regulations and planning requirements make better insulation and specific thermal properties a necessity — difficult to install in Victorian buildings with high ceilings. Removal of pews is almost inevitable, together with changes to the floor and stripping of plaster from walls. Dormers or rooflights will probably be needed to accommodate upper floors. Churches now have real estate rather than heritage value and high costs of renovation might mean the outright loss of some.’

The discarding of surplus ecclesiastical buildings might be seen as a short-term strategy and will no doubt be distressing for many in the parishes they once served, but the fading of the national church offers opportunities for regional renaissance.

‘Although we are not directly involved or consulted on decisions religious bodies make about which buildings are selected for disposal,’ affirms a spokesperson for Historic Environment Scotland, ‘we want to support positive outcomes for these buildings — and their local communities — in a way that ensures their cultural significance is protected.’ For those with ready money, the spire’s the limit.

See the current list of Church of Scotland property for sale at https://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/about-us/departments/property-and-church-buildings/properties-for-sale

To know of the Junction Beat of the River Tweed is to know of its magnificence. Without a doubt one of the finest Atlantic salmon beats in the whole of the UK, those who have been lucky enough to fish there speak of its wondrous waters — one acquaintance tells a tale of how, each autumn, the Junction table at the Ednam House Hotel in autumn would be heaving with stars of the sporting and media world.

It is now for sale, through agents Strutt & Parker, for £2.8 million. The beat, which comprises 1.5 miles of double-bank fishing for six rods, has been in the hands of the current owners since the 1970s, when it was purchased from the Duke of Roxburghe. While no longer reaching the highs of 1,000+ fish at the beginning of the century, the beat still holds its head up despite the decline of Scottish salmon stocks in recent years, with a five-year-average of 480 salmon and 77 sea trout each year.

Salmon fishing on the Tweed dates back to the 12th century, when the monks of Melrose Abbey were granted a charter by King Malcolm IV in 1156 to construct a dam for trapping salmon. This early recognition of the river’s significance set the foundation for its status as one of the world’s best salmon rivers. In the words of John Ashley Cooper: ‘The Tweed is different — all Tweed fishermen will know the implication and meaning of the phrase. It is not only the spell cast by this lovely river and its surroundings which enchant us, not only its historical background and its great fishing traditions, but above all and naturally, its fishing and its fish.’

Along with the Junction, the Sprouston Beat is also available with Strutt & Parker, for a guide price of £2.65 million. The beats are not adjoined, so are being sold separately, despite having the same owner. Sprouston offers a fraction under two miles of single-bank fishing, with a reciprocal agreement for the other bank.

‘Once every few years, a sale comes to the market that really stands out, and this is one of them,’ says Robert McCulloch, head of Strutt & Parker’s Agency team in Scotland. ‘Junction is the best-known and most prestigious beat in the salmon fishing world and, whilst less well-known, Sprouston is many Tweed anglers’ favourite due to its combination of privacy and productivity.’

The Junction and Sprouston Beats are available for sale with Strutt and Parker. For more information and pictures, click here

A century of royal photography

The exhibition 'Royal Portraits: A Century of Photography' was one of the hits of the season last summer during its run at Buckingham Palace. Now the people of Scotland will have a chance to enjoy it as it opens at The King’s Gallery, Palace of Holyroodhouse this morning, 28 February, running until 7 September 2025.

The exhibition charts royal portrait photography from the 1920s to the present day, showing some of the most famous royal photographs of all time — including Hugo Burnand's coronation pictures of King Charles III, and Snowdon's gorgeous portrait of Princess Margaret in 1967.

Perhaps best of all, though, are the exhibits which tell the stories behind the creation of some of the most iconic images of the Royal Family. There are proofs of unseen Cecil Beaton images taken on the wedding day of the late Queen Elizabeth II to Prince Philip, for example — and a fascinating behind-the-scenes snapshot from the day that Julian Calder captured her late majesty wearing full regalia in the middle of the Highlands back in 2010.

Total wreck for sale. Several very careless owners. £695,000.

A three-bedroom farmhouse in Wales for... almost £700k? That's the headline that has been doing the rounds about this house for sale via agents John Francis Cardigan.

The reality is that the house — which has lain derelict of a quarter of a century — is just a tiny part of a property that includes 132 green, rolling acres not far from the pretty North Wales coast at Cardigan.

If you're feeling brave don't mind a complete rebuild project, then it's a pretty delightful-looking slice of Planet Earth at the same money that you'd pay for a three-bedroom home in Woking.

Access nearly all areas

We've written and spoken a lot about access to the land of late — most recently in fascinating podcast with Patrick Galbraith earlier this week. So this post from the NFU about how farmers are engaging with the issue and doing their bit to make things better is great to see.

This is the age of the beautiful vintage train

If the Queen in the Highlands has whetted your appetite for a monarchy-themed trip north of the border, you're in luck. Captain's Choice have an exclusive charter trip aboard The Royal Scotsman at the end of April.

You'll kick off with dinner in Edinburgh Castle before spending a few days aboard the luxurious train, heading north from the capital, crossing the Highlands, and heading back. If you have more time on your hands, you can hop straight from the train journey on to a 14-day cruise around the British Isles on board Silver Endeavour. Find out more and see the full itinerary here.

The trip leaves on 28 April 2025. The rail leg costs £12,300 per person, based on two sharing, while rail plus cruise is £22,300.

Hundreds of millions of pounds' worth of vintage cars, and all anyone wants to look at are the cute dogs

Rosie Paterson went to The ICE event in St Moritz expecting to see cool cars (in every sense). She did, but the real stars turned out to have four legs rather than four wheels. Read about it here.

That's it for this week — Dawn Chorus is back on Monday

After a challenging year, which saw few Scottish estates launched on the open market and buyers thin on the ground, Evelyn Channing of Savills in Edinburgh was pleasantly surprised by the number of sales achieved in 2024.

The Scottish estate sales of the year were undoubtedly the renowned 28,500-acre Dunbeath Castle estate in Caithness and its neighbour, the 7,324-acre Glutt estate, within Europe’s largest stretch of blanket bog in Scotland’s environmentally sensitive Flow Country. They were launched on the market in the summer of 2023 for ‘offers over £25 million’ and ‘offers over £7m’ respectively and sold amid the utmost secrecy to an anonymous buyer in autumn 2024.

A sight familiar to long-term readers of Country Life, the cover of which it has graced on more than one occasion, the magnificently picturesque, Category A-listed Dunbeath Castle stands high on a rocky promontory overlooking the sea on the wild east coast of Caithness. Although remote, it is not entirely inaccessible, given the possibility of private flights into Wick John O’Groats airport and ample space for helicopters to land on Dunbeath’s pristine lawns.

The castle dates from 1620, when a four-storey tower house was built by Clan Sinclair on the site of an earlier medieval building. It was remodelled by the Sinclairs in the 17th century and again in the 1860s, when Scottish architect David Bryce rebuilt it in the Scots Baronial style and established the designed landscape on which it sits.

Following Sir Edwyn Alexander-Sinclair’s death in 1945, his estates were broken up and sold, after which Dunbeath had four successive owners, two of them American, before it was bought in 1997 by Stuart Murray Threipland, who died in June 2023. With its supremely comfortable castle, glorious coastal setting in a wild and beautiful landscape, excellent shooting and fishing, fertile pasture and rich environmental and ecological habitat, Dunbeath encapsulates the Scottish dream, long pursued by enthusiastic buyers from around the world.

From the towering cliffs of Caithness to the warm waters of Galloway, where Mrs Channing oversaw the sale of the 1,637-acre Logan estate on the scenic Rhins peninsula, 13 miles south of Stranraer in Scotland’s south-west corner. ‘Offers over £9.5m’ were sought for the historic coastal estate with its Category A-listed Logan House, an exquisite Queen Anne mansion originally built in 1702 and remodelled in 1874 by Bryce, who enclosed it in a Baronial sandstone ‘shell’.

Set in 17 acres of lovely woodland gardens established by the McDouall family, who owned the estate for more than 700 years, Logan House has more than 9,000sq ft of gracious living space with additional accommodation available in six other estate houses. Renowned for its high-quality shooting and stalking and efficient farming operation, the estate was launched onto the market in April 2023 and sold in May 2024 to an English buyer.

In sharp contrast to the long-drawn-out process so often involved in getting deals done and dusted in Scotland last year, the sale of Category A-listed Letterfourie at Drybridge, Morayshire — Robert Adam’s most northerly house and the first built by him in 1773 on his return from his Grand Tour — was a walk in the park for Mrs Channing.

Set at the heart of a secluded, 308-acre estate three miles from the Moray coastline, the classic Georgian country house had been beautifully restored and refurbished by its American owners, who bought it in 2014 and, having completed the renovation, were looking to relocate to the South of England. Launched onto the market in August 2024 for ‘offers over £2.95m’, Letterfourie was quickly snapped up as a second home by a London-based English family.

An English buyer also emerged at year end as the new owner of the enchanting 75-acre Broomholm House estate at Langholm in Dumfries and Galloway, the traditional seat of Clan Armstrong, which lies between four hills in the valley of the River Esk, on the A7 road between Edinburgh and Carlisle.

Launched through Savills with a guide of ‘offers over £1.75m’ in August 2024, Broomholm offered an appealing combination — unusual in south-west Scotland, where much of the land is owned by large, long-term landowners — of a B-listed Georgian house, plus two cottages, extensive outbuildings, parkland and grazing, together with two beats of peaceful and productive salmon and trout fishing. At the heart of the estate, in an enchanting woodland setting overlooking the Esk, sits pretty Broomholm House, which was reputedly built for the Earls of Nithsdale in 1749.

For Tom Stewart-Moore of Knight Frank, 2024 was a tough year for Scottish estates, when a lack of supply and a shortage of buyers meant that some of the larger ones were taking up to six years to sell. It was with much relief that he handled the straight-forward sale of the important and wonderfully private Cassillis estate, which is centred on a restored historic castle overlooking the River Doon. Launched on the market in August 2024 for ‘offers over £3.95m’, it was sold by October, again to an English buyer.

The name Cassillis derives from the Gaelic for ‘stone fort’ and, according to Scottish historian the late Nigel Tranter, the Category A-listed castle is ‘an extensive mansion belonging to three main periods, of which the oldest part is a massive oblong tower dating possibly from the 14th century. This was greatly altered in the 17th century, a square stair-tower being added at the south-east and all above parapet level remodelled… The early castle has immensely thick walls, 16ft thick at base, roughcast and rising four storeys to the parapet… The interior has been much altered to suit later requirements, but many original features remain’.

The Earls of Cassillis wielded such power over south-west Scotland in the 16th and early 17th centuries that they were known as the Kings of Carrick; Tranter remarked that ‘the history of the turbulent Kings of Carrick was one long catalogue of violence, savagery and sudden death’. In more settled times, the earldom passed, in 1759, to Sir Thomas Kennedy of Culzean and Culzean Castle became the family seat. In 1945, Culzean was presented to the National Trust for Scotland and, in the 1950s, the family took up residence once again at Cassillis, where they remained until 2009.

Located in a secluded parkland setting seven miles south of Ayr and within commuting distance of Glasgow, the 310-acre Cassillis estate comprises — in addition to the five-storey castle, which has a ballroom, three reception rooms, a library, cinema, seven principal bedroom suites and six further bedrooms — a converted five-bedroom coach house and four estate cottages. Extensive equestrian facilities include a new outdoor arena, stables and loose boxes. Land wise, there are 53 acres of pasture and 228 acres of mixed mature woodland, with nearly two miles of salmon and sea-trout fishing on the River Doon.

You get an awful lot more for your money in bonnie Scotland and, back in the northern Highlands, Phiddy Robertson of Galbraith in Inverness handled the sale of the gloriously unspoilt Rispond Lodge estate on the shores of Loch Eriboll, four miles from the village of Durness and 107 miles from Inverness.

Sympathetically renovated by the vendors, the 211-acre estate, listed Category B, comprises a six-bedroom lodge, three holiday cottages (with planning consent for an additional three holiday lodges) and virgin heather moorland with lochans, rough grazing and beaches. Launched in May 2024 for ‘offers over £1.5m’, the historic coastal estate, with its sheltered harbour, private island and views of the Orkney Isles, sold to an English buyer in September 2024.

Spectacular Scottish castles and estates for sale

A look at the finest castles, country houses and estates for sale in Scotland today.

'People love land': The top estate sales of 2024, from the Duke of Northumberland to first-time farmers

Some estate sales were trickier in 2024, yet overall most eventually found buyers. We look at some of the top

Credit: Strutt & Parker

A four-bedroom home overlooking Salcombe where you can dream of summers to come

Inside the unassuming exteriors of Rectory Barn in East Portlemouth is a modern home that demands to entertain your friends

Scottish Borders — £15 million

The Portmore Estate — all 3,459 acres of it — is on the market, and it's quite an amazing opportunity to buy a huge chunk of Scotland. There's farmland, hill grazing, stalking, forestry, a reservoir with fishing chalet and seven estate houses — plus, of course, the magnificent A-listed castle at the heart of it all.

All this plus a location in a charming village (with a decent pub) close to the lovely Borders town of Peebles.

For sale via Galbraith — see more details and pictures.

East Lothian — £4.2 million

Ormiston Castle is a classic Scots Baronial property dating to 1851 — with all the romatic and whimsical architecture you'd expect of the era, combined with the solidity of the Victorian builders. High ceilings, huge windows and a flowing floorplan, a recent refurbishment, 15 acres of grounds and an easy trip to either Edinburgh or Glasgow.

For sale via Alexander Millett International — see more details and pictures.

Stirlingshire — £1.95 million

A whopping 17,000sq ft of property within 11 acres of the Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park; it's been for sale with a different agent, but has now been relaunched with a lower price.

Invertrossachs Country House has been run as a holiday let, but could be turned to almost any purpose, subject to the relevant permissions.

On top of all that it's under 40 miles from Glasgow, and just over 50 miles from Edinburgh, making it wonderfully easily accessible.

For sale via Savills — see more details and pictures.

Edinburgh — £1.8 million

Does this count as a castle? We think so, even though it's 'only' the tower for sale at the rather majestic New Craig, within the Craighouse Estate in Edinburgh.

There's epic grandeur in the architecture, huge rooms, expansive views and a roof terrace with battlements. What a place.

For sale via Knight Frank — see more details and pictures.

Angus – £1.7 million

A gorgeously pretty country house in a big-but-not-too-big estate of just under 70 acres, There's a trio of cottages as well as Keithock House, the mansion at the heart of it all, which has utterly charming architecture inside and out.

For sale via Savills — see more details and pictures.

Berwickshire — £3.25 million

The finest Scots baronial castle in Scotland? That's the reputation held by Ayton Castle, and it's not hard to agree. James Gillespie Graham's magnificent red sandstone monolith absolutely has to be seen — as do its Mediterranean-inspired gardens.

For sale via Knight Frank — see more details and pictures.

Dumfries & Galloway — £4.5 million

With almost 800 acres of land, a six-figure timber income, hydro-electric scheme, grazing for Highland cows and sporting opportunities, the Glenquicken Estate is a classic Scottish property.

The bad news? There's no castle. The good news is that there is a 19th-century Swedish-style timber farmhouse included, and it's absolutely beautiful.

The even better news — for those keen on the farmhouse but not quite so up for managing a large, busy estate — is that the house is available as a separate lot for £850,000, which includes 176 acres and three lochs.

For sale with Galbraith. See more pictures and details for this property.

Edinburgh — £15 million

13 bedrooms, stable block with nine stalls and a bell tower in this Georgian fantasy house just outside Scotland's beautiful capital city.

There is a remarkable Robert Adam mansion at the heart of the property, but with 764 acres and far too much to list here, the house is only the start. Incredible.

For sale with Savills. See more pictures and details for this property.

Clackmannanshire — £2.25 million

Technically a coachman's house rather than a castle (if this is his house, we'd love to see the coach he drove), this enormously spacious home of nearly 7,000sq ft is near Dollar, making it a fairly easy drive to Stirling, Edinburgh, Glasgow and St Andrews.

Dating to the 1880s, it's been completely refitted in quite some style — think home gym, tennis court and Sonos sound system throughout. It's like Footballer's Wives with added turrets.

For sale with Savills. See more pictures and details for this property.

Fife — £1.9 million

The cutest and the most prettily-named castle on this list by quite some way, Pirwindy Keep is in the Fife countryside between Upper Largo and St Andrews.

It's a real mix of styles: a stone-heavy country kitchen with giant Aga sits alongside Japanese-style bedroom and a bathroom which would shame most five-star hotels.

For sale with Rettie. See more pictures and details for this property.

Kingussie, Highlands — £12,000,000

The Balavil Estate is almost 7,000 acres of the Highlands, centred on this classic country seat within the Cairngorms National Park.

While its wild and remote enough to fulfil anybody's fantasies, it's also surprisingly accessible: the main A9 is close by, giving excellent links to Inverness with its rail service and airport.

For sale with Landfor. See more pictures and details for this property.

Tranent, East Lothian — Offers over £1,300,000

Battlements, spiral staircases, stags' heads on the walls and a barrel-vaulted kitchen in the basement: while some castles are disguised stately homes, Fa’side Castle is the real deal.

Built in the 14th century, it offers fantastic views across East Lothian up to nearby Edinburgh and the Firth of Forth.

There are six bedrooms, a couple of acres of grounds and a 300-year-old barn that's been converted in to a pair of cottages.

For sale with Savills. See more pictures of this property.

Creetown, Dumfries & Galloway — £9,500,000

Far from your usual castle-buying opportunity, Castle Cary isn't just a ruined castle by the sea — although it is also that — since it comes with an entire holiday park as part of the deal.

The place has been in the same family for 166 years but now the whole thing is ip for sale, including the holiday park (opened in 1976) complete with its swimming pool, pub, nine-hole golf course and over 100 tent/caravan pitches, all set in 220 acres.

There is a fine six-bedroom main house, while the castle itself is a romantic ruin, dating back to the 15th century.

For sale with Galbraith. See more pictures of this property.

The location of Stuckendroin feels like the sort of place you'd have to travel for hours to find: wild, beautiful, impossibly romantic.

Yet this glorious property, which is presently for sale via Strutt & Parker at £3 million, is only a 48-mile drive from Glasgow.

Your £3m buys a vast amount of land, set in the wilds of the Trossachs National Park with 2¾ miles of frontage onto romantic Loch Lomond.

The estate comprises 3,511 acres of in-bye pasture and paddocks, rough grazings, woodland and open moorland, plus the main farmhouse.

There is also a cottage and agricultural buildings, including a game larder — the owners operate a deerstalking business and culling programme alongside sheep farming. And here are some sheep to prove it.

The three-bedroom, modernised farmhouse has a biomass system, which generates an annual income of £2,000–£3,000 through the Renewable Heat Incentive. Not enough to live on, but a nice little bonus.

The main draw, though, is the chance to live in a simply wonderful part of Britain.

Many beautiful homes around the country in recent years have ended up being rented out as Air BnBs and the like. But not Stuckendroin: the owners have very much been occupiers too, and it's not hard to see why.

For sale via Strutt & Parker at £3m. See more details and pictures.

What else you could get

Stirlingshire — £2.5 million

A magnificent lakeside property that has been a private home, a boutique hotel and, more recently, a hugely popular wedding venue.

What the new owner does with it will be fascinating to see, for with a location this wonderful your imagination can run riot.

For sale with Savills at £2.5 million. See more pictures and details for this property.

Kent — £4,000,000

When it comes to houses with great names, few can do better than Fishponds Place, a six-bedroom home near Seal Chart.

Originally from 1910, the house has been enhanced and extended in recent years, and features a plethora of amenities including a gym, tennis court, basketball court and swimming pool within its 10.85 acres

For sale with Knight Frank. See more pictures and details for this property.

Surrey — £5,500,000

A welcoming five-bedroom home in the charming St George's Hill Estate, Amberwood Court was built in 1999 and designed by David De Lay.

The amenities of St George's Hill are world famous, but in case you need a refresher: one of the finest tennis clubs in England, a championship-standard golf course and 900 private acres of communal countryside. A golfer's paradise.

For sale with Savills. See more pictures and details for this property.

Stirlingshire — £2,250,000

The ace of space. Invertrossachs Country House is a considerable Edwardian residence of some 17,000sq ft in the heart of the Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park.

Just look at that setting. Comes with 13 bedrooms in all. Not much else to say really.

For sale with Strutt & Parker. See more pictures and details for this property.

Suffolk — £9,000,000

The original site of Martley Hall in Easton was recorded in the Domesday Book, but thankfully the current house is a bit newer than that. A grand family home of six bedrooms set in 220 acres, this is a chance to own one of Suffolk's finest equestrian estates.

Futher amenities include, but are not limited to, a sauna and steam room, tennis court, petanque courts, and an indoor swimming pool. Did we mention there's a moat? There's a moat.

For sale with Knight Frank. See more pictures and details for this property.

Northamptonshire — £1,250,000

They say good things come in small packages. This five-bedroom home in Wicken might be the perfect example. Underneath that elegant stone interior is something rather special.

These interiors. Crisp, clean and astoundingly contemporary with just enough period touches throughout. Highlight has to be the garden room, or the kitchen with the bi-fold doors

For sale with Michael Graham. See more pictures and details for this property.

Shropshire — £4,000,000

The rather imposing Bettisfield Park is a Grade II*-listed Georgian country house set in lovely gardens and grounds of some 3.75 acres with surrounding parkland views.

The real highlight, though, is the astoundingly grand interiors. You will struggle to find finer plasterwork in a private country home. One for the architectural purists.

For sale with Savills. See more pictures and details for this property.

Buckinghamshire — £5,500,000

Riverside living is the dream for many, and I can struggle to think of a better dream house than Doannee in Bray, with its sensational position on the Thames.

With six bedrooms, this Edwardian masterpiece has been extensively restored and enhanced by its current owners. Bray, of course, is bursting with amenities, not least the Michelin-starred restaurants within walking distance.

For sale with Hamptons. See more pictures and details for this property.

London — £29,500,000

It's difficult to get bang for your buck in London, but this seven-bedroom home in Mayfair is a very good effort indeed.

Set over three floors, the property benefits from a drive-in gated courtyard, underground parking, a swimming pool and cinema room. 12,800sq ft in prime central London.

For sale with Savills. See more pictures and details for this property.

Credit: Strutt and Parker

Best country houses for sale this week

An irresistible West Country cottage and a magnificent Cumbrian country house make our pick of the finest country houses for

Spectacular Scottish castles and estates for sale

A look at the finest castles, country houses and estates for sale in Scotland today.

What you'll find inside Country Life's 2024 Christmas Double issue, the biggest in 128 years of the magazine's history

Country Life 11/18 December 2024 is our iconic Christmas Double Issue, with 318 pages of Christmas cheer.

People looking for a country house tend to love a home that's secluded, pristine and with views to die for. All three boxes are ticked by Grey Peel, a pristine home at the heart of a 138-acre Borders farm set close to the foothills of the magnificent Cheviot Hills, two miles south of Jedburgh and 15 miles from Melrose. James Denne of GSC Grays in Alnwick and Tom Stewart-Moore of Knight Frank in Edinburgh are joint agents in the sale, seeking ‘offers over £1.9m’.

That sum buys you both the land and a truly delightful main house, which has been restored and rebuilt around the original farmstead by the current owners; one-third is regarded as the ‘old wing’, with the remaining two-thirds new.

The interior reflects a pleasing mix of English, French and Italian country-house influences, with many period features, including stone staircases and antique oak doors and fireplaces.

The house provides 7,185sq ft of stylish accommodation, with five charming reception rooms, four bedrooms and six bathrooms.

Highlights include a drawing room in Colefax and Fowler-inspired yellow with a barrel-vaulted ceiling and Victorian Carrara-marble fireplace, and a large dining hall with a leaded-light antique door leading to the garden.

Equally dramatic are the high-ceilinged Tapestry Room that leads into the four-poster en-suite bedroom, and a spacious living room with huge windows overlooking the balcony, the glen and the burn below.

Doors from the garden room, library and principal bedroom suite lead into the Italian garden, a sun trap with a Haddonstone Dolphin fountain rescued from one of the old stables.

Doors from the living room, kitchen and drawing room lead down to the topiary garden and past the yew hedge to the Ferniehurst garden, so called because Ferniehurst Castle, a seat of the Marquess of Lothian, can be seen in the distance beyond the A68.

Grey Peel has two main farm buildings: a sheep barn and a large general-purpose warehouse. The farm rises from about 360ft above sea level at the eastern boundary, to about 590ft at the western boundary. It nestles between two glens, with the Grey Peel Burn running along the north boundary and the Black Burn running along the southern boundary.

The land roughly comprises 79 acres of pasture, 14 acres of rough grazing, 39 acres of mixed woodland and 5½ acres of roads and buildings. In recent years, the owners, who bought Grey Peel in 2002, have successfully produced high-quality, pedigree Texel sheep stock.

Grey Peel and the surrounding Lintalee Estate are for sale via Knight Frank and GSC Grays — see more details and pictures.

Spectacular Scottish castles and estates for sale

A look at the finest castles, country houses and estates for sale in Scotland today.

I am very lucky to own some of a house in London. Myself and my business partner, whom you might know as HSBC, managed to scrape together enough money (mostly theirs) to purchase a leasehold property in Bermondsey. There is comfort in having your own place. But that comfort is always eroded by the knowledge that it was too expensive and the guilt of knowing others are not so fortunate. I do not seek sympathy, only understanding.

That sense of guilt, horror and ‘being thoroughly ripped off’ is never more acute than when I see something like this. 

That is a pair of garages in Lavender Hill, near Clapham Junction, that are for sale for £140,000 with Foxtons. That is 262sq ft of space, that you cannot (realistically) live in. £603 per square foot. They are not even nice garages. They are not even in central London (despite what the listing might have you believe). That is about what my house (which has two-bedrooms and a garden and a parking space) cost some 20 years ago. 

It is easy to despair. No amount of saving or scrimping can compete with that kind of property inflation. What chance do young people have? Is it even a case of ‘young people’ any more? Very few of my friends own their own homes, and I am 32 years old.

The obtuse answer to this complaint usually veers one of two ways. Either we are told to ‘simply stop enjoying luxuries like holidays and avocados and takeaways’ so that we can afford a house (debunked above). Or we are told to simply go live somewhere else. 

Fine. Let’s imagine that the entire of the UK economy and its businesses aren’t ruthless focuses towards the nation’s capital. With my £140,000 I am going to turn down the chance to buy two grim garages in Clapham and I am going to buy this island in Scotland instead. And with the change, I will build myself a log cabin on it, where I will continue writing articles about how expensive houses in London are. But I will do it not surrounded by pigeons and filth, but rather seals and scenery. 

The island is called Eilean Loch Oscair and it lies off the north-west coast of the Island of Lismore with the Firth of Lorne. It's about 10 acres in size. You will need a boat to get there, but it is not very far.

Here are some pictures of seals.

If you are still unsure about which to buy, the garages or the seal-slathered Scottish Island, then consider the following hypothetical situation. You are at the pub, or a dinner party, and the person sat to your right owns the island, and the person on your left owns the garages. Who would you rather talk to?

I thought so.

Eilean Loch Oscair is for sale with Knight Frank for offers over £125,000. For more information and pictures, click here

James Fisher is the deputy digital editor of countrylife.co.uk. He lives in London and is not often invited to parties.

Credit: Knight Frank

Live the life of Rivals in this house on Tetbury Green

Whether you read the book, watched the TV show, or just want to live in a nice house in the

A breathtaking house and garden for sale that was created by one of Britain's greatest landscape architects as a playground for his family

Thomas H. Mawson, one of the 20th century's most renowned landscape architects, created this place for his family to enjoy.

The temptation to run away from it all is never that far away. Every monday morning, that alarm goes off, your freedom is rescinded, and the urge to vanish can overwhelm. How did we get here? Who gazed upon the great glories of our natural world: the trees, the oceans, the soaring eagles and the leaping salmon and decided that the best use of our time was meetings on Zoom?

We should find whoever that person is and hold them responsible. I imagine they will be difficult to find, if not already dead. In the absence of finding the root of the evil, perhaps it is more sensible to find some medicine to treat it. Medicine such as a 762 acre estate in the Scottish Borders, perhaps. 

Something like Talla Farm should do. It’s near Tweedsmuir, and you can buy a four-bedroom farmhouse and all that land for offers over £1.1 million from Galbraith. You could wake up on a Monday morning and be among the salmons and the eagles. You’ll probably still have to do emails and the like, but at least you’ll have something nice to look at.

Situated on the edge of the Talla Reservoir, the farm enjoys a secluded position and pretty delicious views all around. There are lots of things to see and to do, such as golf, walking, mountain biking and splashing about in a reservoir. 

The farmhouse itself is a relatively plain blank canvas of four bedrooms. It has plenty of space and all the modern comforts and conveniences you could need. There is no point over-indulging on the interiors in a place such as this, because, look outside.

Outbuildings include a sheep/store shed, dog kennels and a large yard. There is scope to develop all of these, with the necessary consents. As for the land, there is 760 acres of that, which is made up of a mix of in-bye pasture, hill ground and broadleaved woodland. There are, according to the agents, black grouse, golden eagles, osprey and peregrine falcons to look at. Heaven.

Situation-wise, Tweedsmuir is four miles away, Broughton is 12 miles to the north and Edinburgh is 40 miles away. The property is offered as a whole or in three lots. 

Talla Farm is for sale with Galbraith for offers over £1.1 million. For more information and pictures, click here

The 'best of both worlds' in a 16th century house with Georgian façade and sprawling grounds with lake and stables

All houses change a little over their lifetimes — and some end up unrecognisable as the centuries pass. Penny Churchill takes

A grand country house in Yorkshire that effortlessly blends the 1720s with the 2020s

Dougill Hall offers space, gorgeous architecture and just the right amount of modern style. Penny Churchill takes a look.

A spectacular 886-acre estate that puts rewilding at its heart is up for sale to the northeast of the Cairngorms National Park.

Beldorney Estate includes the striking 16th century Beldorney Castle, built by the Gordon family, one of the most influential clans in the region at the time. It is one of the earliest Z plan castles in the north east of Scotland and is bound to catch the eye of architecture buffs.

The Aberdeenshire estate is on the market for £5,000,000 via Strutt & Parker.

Beldorney Castle has been developed over the years, including the addition of two wings in 1679 and remodelling in 1713, when coved ceilings and bolection-moulded chimney pieces were introduced. It has also (thankfully) been restored and upgraded in more recent years too.

Still, it’s not lost its historic charm and there are ‘fragmentary remains’ of original wall and ceiling paintings, according to Strutt & Parker.

The castle boasts enormous and atmospheric reception rooms. The Grand Hall is quite a spectacle with pitch pine panelling, as is the Upper Hall, with a beamed, vaulted ceiling. In fact, there are quite a few vaulted rooms around here.

But there’s a (slightly) more low-key side to the castle too: a kitchen, dining room, two drawing rooms, cloak room, utility room and dressing room. Bold-painted walls are the order of the day in many of these rooms.

The castle has five bedrooms, with a further two in a self-contained apartment in the south wing.

Like most estates of this scale and stature, Beldorney Estate comes with an assortment of other buildings: two stone cottages, a farmhouse, and several outbuildings.

But what of the land itself? Well, it’s dominated by grassland. But there’s also woodland, wetland, and heathland and scrub.

Robert McCulloch, Head of Strutt & Parker’s Estates & Farm Agency Department in Scotland, says: ‘The chance to own a Scottish castle will carry an undeniable allure with buyers, offering a blend of history, prestige, and architectural beauty.

‘However, its diverse landscape and location on the River Deveron provide much more than just scenic value – they present a meaningful opportunity to contribute to nature recovery and support community development.’

If you're a serious buyer, it’s worth noting that Highlands Rewilding, the owner of Beldorney Estate, is on the lookout for a buyer or an investor who shares its vision.

McCulloch explains: ‘Although the sale is open to a broad range of potential buyers, preference will be given to those who align with Highlands Rewilding’s vision for the estate's future and are willing to enter into a long-term management agreement to allow Highlands Rewilding to continue to manage the land. It is a rare chance to invest in a property with both historical and ecological significance.’

Beldorney Estate is on the market for £5,000,000 via Strutt & Parker — see more details and pictures.

Credit: Strutt and Parker

Best country houses for sale this week

An irresistible West Country cottage and a magnificent Cumbrian country house make our pick of the finest country houses for

3,000 pristine acres of Loch Lomond National Park, where red squirrels roam spectacular woodland, have come up for sale

I receive a lot of emails each day. I would argue that I probably receive too many emails each day. As a result, it takes something quite special, beyond the clickbait subject lines, to grab my attention. As you well know by now, I am always on the lookout for exciting houses for sale. When an email with the subject line ‘A Highland haven on the shores of Loch Lomond’ wanders past, I am powerless to resist. 

Resistance is, indeed, futile. What could you possibly be doing that is more important than gazing at the many vistas, views, hills, woodlands and pasture of the Stuckendroin Estate? I think far better to daydream about your new life as a landowner in the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park. A dream you can achieve with Strutt and Parker for £3 million.

Like all good estates, it comes with not one, but two homes. The main house is a four-bedroom farmhouse situated on the easter side of the estate, mere metres from Loch Lomond itself. It could do with a little renovating, but the difficult stuff has already been done: double glazing, a new roof, private water and biomass heating and hot water. 

The other property is a single-storey two-bedroom cottage currently in use by the farm/estate manager, that could also do with some renovations. Both properties have their own enclosed gardens.

Not that space is an issue mind, considering the estate offers about 3,625 acres of land in total. We’ve asked experts here at Country Life if that’s a lot and the answer has been a resounding yes. It is, in fact, heaps. 

There are many things you could do with this land. You could continue to use it to graze the 250 Cheviot breeding ewes. You could go deer stalking. You could improve the many peatlands on the estate. You could plant lots of trees. You could just go for lots of very nice long walks. There is, to use an overused word, lots of potential.

Considering its size, the property is in a remarkably convenient location, with the village of Ardlui one mile to the north, while Tarbet and Arrochar are both within 10 miles. Glasgow itself is only 48 miles away, while there are plenty of amenities associated with Loch Lomond nearby. 

The Stuckendroin Estate is for sale with Strutt & Parker for £3 million. For more information and pictures, click here