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Embrace off-grid living on this Scottish island for sale, but you'll have to share it with the local seal population

A dot on the map of the west coast of Scotland has come up for sale.

Eilean Loch Oscair Property for Sale
An island of one's own: Eilean Loch Oscair is up for sale.
(Image credit: Knight Frank)

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.

But why merely visit exquisite and unspoilt islands when you can instead have one all to yourself, forever? The name of the island in question is Eilean Loch Oscair, which is listed via Knight Frank for offers over £125,000.

Eilean Loch Oscair Property for Sale

(Image credit: Knight Frank)

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.

Eilean Loch Oscair Property for Sale

(Image credit: Knight Frank)

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.

Eilean Loch Oscair Property for Sale

(Image credit: Knight Frank)

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.

lismore lighthouse

Lismore lighthouse is one of the most beautiful in Scotland.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

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.

Oban harbour

Oban is one of the biggest settlements on the west coast of Northern Scotland.

(Image credit: Alamy)

Toby Keel is Country Life's Digital Director, and has been running the website and social media channels since 2016. A former sports journalist, he writes about property, cars, lifestyle, travel, nature.