'Dambuster' estate goes on market for £2.78m

A country estate which boasts its own private pub and overlooks a majestic loch '“ used as a testing ground for the WW2 'bouncing bomb' operation made famous by the film The Dam Busters '“ has been put up for sale with a price tag of £2.8 million.

The estate is on the market for 2.78m.

The 1,041-acre Glenstriven Estate, built in 1860 and bought by the current owners, the Blacker family, in the early 1980s, boasts a country house, sporting facilities and woodlands and coastal gardens, as well as The Glenstriven Arms – a former generator building converted into a private pub.

The setting, on the banks of Loch Striven in Argyll, was also a secret site where prototypes of the bouncing bomb designed by aircraft engineer Barnes Wallis were tested. It is believed approximately 200 inert bombs were dropped in the loch during training runs before 618 Squadron’s successful night-time raid on hydroelectric dams in the Ruhr Valley, Germany’s industrial heartland, in May 1943. Some of those prototypes were successfully recovered last year.

The estate’s private pub, the Glenstriven Arms, is described as a “characterful and private bar” used by guests from the main house, which has ten bedrooms. The ceiling of the pub is signed by a myriad of visitors including chef Jamie Oliver who filmed part of “Jamie’s Great Britain” at Glenstriven.

The estate is available as a whole for offers over £2.78m, or in individual lots priced.

Jon Lambert, senior director at John Clegg & Co, said: “We are delighted to bring Glenstriven to the open market. The lotted sale gives a variety of purchasers the rare opportunity to purchase coastal properties in a stunning location.

“Equally, the estate as a whole provides an opportunity for an individual to carry on as the current owner has done to date.”

Loch Striven was believed to have been chosen for the bomb tests because the landscape resembled the area of Germany where the bombs were to be dropped.

The estate, which also includes holiday cottages, including Glenstriven Lodge, Invervegain Farmhouse and the chalet-style Flagstaff Cottage, which was built by the owners in the 1990s, was last put up for sale seven years ago, but is believed not to have been sold at that time.