The idyllic Scottish island that could be yours for just £5.5m
A Scottish island with a derelict castle has been put up for sale for the first time in eight decades.
Shuna, a 1,100-acre Hebridean island bought in 1945 by the Gully family as a retreat from the horrors of the Second World War, is on the market for £5.5m.
Estate agents Sotheby's described it as 'a truly rare offering, rich in heritage, natural wonder and possibility'.
The island, which features eight properties with a collective 27 bedrooms, as well as the ruins of the 20th-century Shuna Castle, is a short boat ride away from Oban and the village of Ardfern, as well as the infamous Corryvreckan whirlpools.
Its six holiday cottages are powered by sustainable power sources, including solar panels, wind turbines, battery storage and back-up generators, and the island has a helipad for those travelling from nearby Glasgow and Islay airports.
Shuna is a working estate, with livestock farming and country pursuits, including storied woodcock shoots and deer stalking offered for visitors.
It is one of two islands called Shuna found near Oban, which is described by Sotheby's as the 'Gateway to the Isles'.
Shuna was bought by the Dowager Viscountess Selby, a descendant of politician Sir William Court Gully, who brought up her four children, Xandra, Audrey, Michael, and Edward on the island.
Jim Gully, who grew up on the island and said he had an 'idyllic' childhood there, said that it would be a relief for his father to no longer have to manage the properties.
His father Eddie, the fourth of the Viscountess' children, moved to the island at three months old and lived there for 80 years, his son said.
Mr Gully, who now lives on the nearby Isle of Seil, which is linked to the mainland by road, told the BBC: 'My brother and I grew up on Shuna. We were home-schooled by our grandfather [Donald Wells] on the island.
'It's idyllic for a childhood being taught there, running the farm and the holiday cottages, and we still do that.'
He added: 'It's been a huge part of all of our lives and definitely sad that all of that is coming to an end. But it's tinged with relief for my father that it's going to be slightly easier not having to manage it all and having to get over to the island three or four times a week.'
The management of the island has been handled by Rob and Kathryn James, who have lived there full-time for the past 12 years. The couple's plans to move on to other jobs prompted the family to sell.
The castle on the island was built in 1911 by New Zealand-born explorer George Buckley, who had joined an expedition to the South Pole in 1907 on the Nimrod with Ernest Shackleton.
Blueprints for the building, which fell into disrepair in the 1980s and now has trees growing through its windows, are thought to have been on the Titanic's doomed voyage.
There has been human activity on the island for more than 4,500 years, as evidenced by Stone and Iron Age burial mounds and ruins. It is estimated that between 70 and 80 people lived there between 1750 and 1850.
Viewings are set to begin next week.
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