‘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.
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