2 days ago
Private Scottish island with castle up for sale for £5.5m
The 1100-acre Shuna Island, in the Inner Hebrides, is up for sale for £5.5m - and it is the first time the island has been up for sale in almost a century.
The island is three miles long and a mile and a half wide, and is part of a group called the Slate Islands, which is also home to Seil, Easdale, Luing and Torsa.
In the centre of the island lie the remains of Shuna Castle, an early 20th-century structure with panoramic coastal views.
(Image: Nicola Lang) According to Sotheby's International Realty, who are handling the sale, the site has the potential for redevelopment.
The island's previous owners were Viscountess Selby and her son Edward Gully, whose family have owned it for 80 years.
Their main residence has been the Shuna Farmhouse, while there are also a number of holiday cottages spread across the island.
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In total, there are eight properties which are able to house 52 people on the island.
There is also the possibility for livestock farming, as the island has 81 acres of permanent pasture, 640 acres of rough grazing, and more than 300 acres of native woodland and foreshore.
Sotheby's International Realty said a flock of around 220 Beulah sheep also roam the land, while there is also the potential for cattle grazing.
The island is "teeming" with life, the real estate agent said, with deer, eagles and porpoises all frequently spotted.
Shuna's history spans more than 9000 years and features both Stone Age burial mounds and Iron Age sites.
The island's earliest mention is reportedly in the Vita Columbae, recounting Saint Columba and his crew being delayed on "Sainean Island", which is believed to be Shuna.
Over centuries, the island belonged to Dal Riata's Gaelic kingdom and later passed on to the Maclean clan after Robert the Bruce gifted Lorne to Clan Campbell in 1321.
By the 18th century, it was a thriving lime production centre with kilns and up to 100 residents, The Scotsman reports.
