Country houses for sale

A converted shepherd’s home in the shadow of ‘one of the finest hill walks in Scotland’

In a wonderfully wild and remote spot in Western Scotland you'll find this gorgeous former shepherd's home with spectacular views and an unbeatably romantic setting. Madeleine Silver reports.

You see the white spec in the middle of the picture above? That would be all yours should you decide to become the new owner of Rientraid, a three-bedroom house in Sutherland.

As locations go, it’s hard to imagine anything much more romantic than this prettily-converted former shepherd’s house, set in 80 acres of unspoilt land near Kylesku, a small community on the coast of north-west Scotland that’s close to… well, it’s not really close to anything, to be honest. It sits roughly half-way between Ullapool and Durness, each of which is an hour or so away.

The house itself is very smartly presented, and well laid-out to take advantage of the spectacular views across Loch a’ Chairn Bhain and to the fine trio of peaks at Quinag — they’re not quite tall enough to be Munros, but have been described as ‘one of the finest hillwalks in Scotland‘ .

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On the ground floor are a sitting room with a stone fireplace — fitted with a woodburning stove — and a kitchen/breakfast room with a Rayburn and French doors opening onto the deer-fenced gardens.

Upstairs there is a family room with a huge end window to take in the views across the loch and towards the distant mountains.

Outside, the house boasts a small orchard, garden, outdoor seating space and a bothy with potential to become separate accommodation, subject to relevant consents. The rest of the included land is a mix of woodland, moorland and grassland.

As pretty as the house itself is, it’s the location that will really fire the imagination here, however, since this is in a perfect spot for walking, climbing, fishing or sailing. And while it is about as remote as you could ever hope, you don’t have to go all that far. There’s a little shop a few miles away in Drumbeg that sounds terrific, selling all manner of local delicacies — including its own whisky.

Rientraid is for sale via Strutt & Parker for offers over £650k — see more pictures and details.


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