Scottish estate steeped in clan history put up for sale
Armadale Castle Estate on the Isle of Skye is centred around the dramatic ruins of a 19th century Gothic mansion.
It is being marketed for sale by Strutt & Parker at offers over £2.76 million as a whole, or in seven lots.
Robert McCulloch, Strutt & Parker's head of estate and farm agency in Scotland, said: "Armadale is a place of rare character and heritage.
"It has the grandeur: the ruined turrets, the ancient trees, the views that stretch across the Sound of Sleat - but is also one of the Isle of Skye's most established and internationally recognised tourist attraction and associated businesses."
The estate from above. (Image: Strutt & Parker) The castle, which forms the centrepiece of the estate, is the historic seat of the Macdonalds of Sleat, "one of the largest and most powerful of the Highland clans historically".
The first recorded reference to a house at Armadale is from 1690, when the Royal Navy shelled the site to bring the Jacobite Sir Donald Macdonald of Sleat to heel. A new mansion was constructed in the 1790s, with a grand Tudor-Gothic wing added in 1815 by James Gillespie Graham.
Today, the estate is operated by a charitable trust as a well-established visitor destination, welcoming thousands of visitors each year. It includes a purpose-built visitor centre, which houses the Museum of the Isles, together with the former stable block which includes a pair of self-contained apartments, café/restaurant which can be used as 'well-appointed venue for functions and events, and associated offices and utilitarian space'.
The agent said: 'This is complemented by Armadale Gardens, which extends to around 40 acres of formal Victorian planting with specimen trees and rare conifers laid out across terraces and wooded walks.
'The wider estate includes Armadale House, a secluded period five-bedroom family-sized home and former head gardener's house; the converted Stables used for accommodation and hospitality; and Forester's Cottage, tucked among the trees, and six self-catering cabins with spectacular sea views.
'The land itself totals approximately 359 acres combining mixed species woodland and enclosed pasture on a gently sloping ground with a southeasterly aspect and magnificent views."
The agent added "In addition to Armadale Castle Estate, the adjoining South Sleat Estate – extending to over 19,000 acres and also owned by the Clan Donald Lands Trust is for sale at offers over £6.75m. A further cottage with development land is available for sale as an addition to Armadale Castle or South Sleat estates. The availability for sale of these estates offers purchasers of wide range and varying budget a fantastic opportunity to own either a small or a large part of the famous Isle of Skye, and contribute positively to the future of the region's land and community."
Separately, Community Land Scotland earlier called for further consultation over the sale.
Scottish business which worked on Liverpool's Anfield eyes growth
One of Scotland's largest structural steel fabricators, which has worked on projects including the redevelopment of Glasgow Queen Street railway station and Liverpool FC's Anfield stadium, is gearing up for major expansion as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
J&D Pierce Contracts, based at Glengarnock in Ayrshire and 80%-owned by Swedish investment group Storskogen, expects annual turnover to rise towards £200 million as it capitalises on 'growth in key sectors including data centres, distribution hubs, distilleries, stadia and arenas, transport infrastructure, and the social and supply chain requirements related to renewable energy'.
Accounts filed with Companies House last July show the turnover of J&D Pierce Contracts was £103.8 million in the year to December 31, 2023.
In recent years, J&D Pierce has supplied structural steel for high-profile construction projects across the UK, including at the Formula One racetrack at Silverstone as well as Anfield. It has also worked on the redevelopment of Edinburgh Haymarket and Dundee railway stations, as well as on the Queen Street project.
Family sells renowned landmark hotel after 30 years
A large-scale landmark hotel and 'cherished destination' has been sold.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
28 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
'We made a change after Covid that's let us quit our jobs to travel the world'
Ryan Losasso and Jade Beaty, 30, are now known as Live The Dash and travel across the world filming their exploits for their TikTok account, which is followed by 505,000 people A couple quit their desk jobs and now travel the world full-time after discovering what they had captured on holiday. Ryan Losasso and Jade Beaty, 30, are now known as Live The Dash, one of the biggest UK travel creators with 505,000 followers on TikTok. They live a life many dream of, getting paid to whizz around the world to intriguing destinations. The advertising workers had not planned to become full-time TikTok content creators. In fact, it wasn't until they returned from a big six-month trip at the turn of the Covid lockdowns that they realised what they were sitting on. "We had all this video content when the world shut down, and we had a lot of time on our hands. So we turned to this huge stock of footage," Ryan told the Mirror. "We set ourselves a challenge of posting a video every day for 30 days. Then when some of that did really well, it spurred us on. We continued to post every day for six months." Do you have a travel story to share? Email webtravel@ READ MORE: Tourist warning to 10 million as Europe's hottest capital on alert Jade added: "It was surprising how quickly we got through that content. On a walk in Spain, the videos were doing quite well, and we realised we were going to run out of content soon. We started joking that we'd start going on trips." At first, the couple juggled their desk jobs with travel, booking themselves onto the cheapest flight out after they clocked off on a Friday and returning on Sunday. Two years ago, they decided to go full time. The risk has clearly paid off, as Jade and Ryan are among the most watched travel TikTok channels and won the platform's Travel Award for 2024. Part of the secret to their success is putting in the research hours before they go on a trip and then only travelling when they've landed on a great idea. That might be heading to New York to see if the hallowed 'dollar slice' of pizza can still be purchased, or around the UK in search for a genuine 99p 99 whippy. They've also spent the night on the fastest sleeper train in the world, which rushes snoozing passengers from Hong Kong to Shanghai. "Was it amazing? The tech is amazing, but you're sharing with three other strangers. It reaches 270 mph, but it's super smooth," Ryan explained. "For TikTok specifically, we have our hooks before we go. We film all we can, we film the journey, we film two intros, two hooks. We bet on all the horses." The search for something new that will engage their audiences takes the pair to places they might otherwise not have visited, which often turn out to be the most enjoyable. READ MORE: Brits warned of travel chaos as European airport hit by 10th walkout in 45 days "Somewhere I wasn't expecting much from was Weston-super-mare. It had a lot of cheap whippies. It is obviously a faded Victorian seaside town, but the beach is gorgeous," Ryan said. Jade added: "We also like to hunt out weird hotels. We stayed in a cow cabin with unlimited free milk, near Ed Sheeran's hometown, called Easton Farm Park. We also stayed in these huge tree houses in Derby." The old adage of 'if you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life' seems true in the couple's case. They still have the travel bug and are hugely excited by their trips. Part of that means pushing themselves to engage with people they meet along the way. "We have this rule that whenever we're on the plane, we have to speak to the person next to us. One guy told us 'do what excites you'. Six years later, we still tell ourselves that. We call it Conrad's message." The couple also recommends running every day and practicing good communication for travelling couples who want to avoid arguments while on the road. In terms of finding inspiration, they recommend using the adjustable 'For You' feed on TikTok. It is now possible to customise content preferences so you can see more or less of certain content in topics from over 10 categories – including travel, sports, nature, and food and drink An AI-powered 'smart keyword filter" that allows users to limit content they don't want to see'. "The For You feed is the heart of TikTok, a way for us to discover new content. We use the new features, manage topics, and think it's really cool that you can filter which topics you want to see more or less of."
Time Out
3 hours ago
- Time Out
These are the 20 best things to do in San Francisco's Chinatown
What is it? A Gothic revival Catholic church built in 1854. Why go? It's the oldest cathedral in the state, and all its bricks were imported from China (can you imagine how low that boat must have sat in the water?). It survived the 1906 earthquake but the associated fire gutted it, leaving just the brick walls and the bell tower (the bells melted in the heat). It was renovated in 1909 and again in 2011. The church is perhaps best known for the distinctive clock on its tower, where these words are printed in gold: 'Son, observe the time and fly from evil.' Lore says that this advice was specifically aimed at men heading towards area brothels in the 1850s. Time Out tip: Just across the street, you'll find St. Mary's Square, which underwent a renovation and expansion in 2017. The public park now includes a 6,000-square-foot rooftop park (it's street level, but also a rooftop: thank the underground garage for that anomaly) with landscaped seating and an open plaza.
Daily Record
3 hours ago
- Daily Record
Bob MacIntyre ignites mini charge at Travelers as he produces sand magic with moment of quality
Scot makes moves as Tommy Fleetwood catches fire on day two Resurgent Bob MacIntyre produced some sand magic to ignite a mini-charge at the Travelers Championship as Ryder Cup pal Tommy Fleewtood joined the leaders up front. The Scottish star kickstarted a burst at TPC River Highlands with a moment of quality at the beginning of the back nine to mount a solid rush up the leaderboard. Fresh from his runner-up finish at the US Open, MacIntyre's stunning hole-out from a greenside bunker at the tenth catapulted him forward and he began to fly in Connecticut. The Oban ace strode onto the next tee and immediately smashed a wonderful approach into the par-three for a second-straight birdie, made it three-in-a-row at the 12th with another dart of an iron shot and smooth putt to the heart of the hole and demolished the par-five 13th to make it a dazzling quartet to storm into the Top 20. MacIntyre got a break when his attempt to drive the par-four 15th just dodged the water to keep the momentum and, although he gave one back on the penultimate having doubled it on Thursday, he was able to par the last and sign for an impressive three-under par 67 and firmly improve his position ahead of the weekend However, the Tartan star will begin the third day seven shots behind a hat-trick of leaders who pushed into the positions in Connecticut. Justin Thomas jumped into his share at the halfway mark as he matched Rory McIlroy's first-round score on the second day to move to nine-under par. That allowed him to catch Scottie Scheffler, who, like MacIntyre, suffered on the penultimate hole at TPC River Highlands for the second straight day. Thursday's hopes of hammering a magical 59 were ruined when he made a mess of the 17th and he did the same on Friday when blaming a gust of wind for taking his tee-shot into a bunker and then smacking the resultant effort into water for a double. Scheffler's two-shot lead evaporated at that point and he now sits level with Thomas at the top of the boards and also Fleetwood with two days to go. The English ace made it a trio at the summit as he shot a magical back nine of 30, including two eagles, to get into position to win his first-ever PGA Tour title. Fleetwood said: 'I was very disappointed last week [at US Open]. I played poorly, but the thing is in golf there is always another week and you have to get ready. I came out motivated to try and take what there is to learn and help it make you better. So far I'm happy with how I've bounced back.' McIlroy hit the stall button in the second round, but did recover from a nightmare start to salvage something. The Northern Irish superstar looked back to his best in the first-round with a bogey-free 64 to sit just a couple off the pace. But McIlroy quickly ruined that stat as he dropped strokes in three of the opening five holes of his second round through a scrappy start. The career Grand Slam ace managed to stem the bleeding and get himself back on an even-keel by recovering all three of the losses on the back nine as he approached the closing stages of his day-two effort. McIlroy couldn't cash in on luck at the 17th when, after he hit his ball into the water before it skimmed off the surface and bounced out, he couldn't save par and ended with a one-over Friday score of 71 to sit four behind the leaders
