More Scots bagging big estates

But a report, published yesterday by one of Scotland’s leading property consultancies, claims to have exposed the public’s perception of the ownership by foreigners of huge swathes of Scotland’s countryside as a myth.

Increasing numbers of rural estates are being sold to Scots buyers, according to a new report by CKD Galbraith, the largest agency in Britain specialising in sporting estates in Scotland and Ireland.

Of the 12 estates recently marketed internationally by the company, only one has been sold to a foreign laird. Eight estates were sold to native Scots and three to English buyers.

John Bound, who leads the rural and residential sales department at CKD Galbraith’s Inverness office, said yesterday: "There is a perception in some quarters that Scotland is owned by foreign landlords who hold estates as a badge of personal wealth. We are seeing a significant shift towards Scottish and British ownership of estates.

"These owners take a keen interest in the life of the estate and the local region, and seek to spend the majority of their time on the estate. Their reasons for buying a Scottish estate are often complex, but one thing is common to all - they are committed to Scotland and are full-time supporters of the local community."

William McMillan, a wealthy Glasgow businessman, is one of the new breed of native Scots who have become Highland lairds in recent years.

Last October, Mr McMillan, who owns a steel fabrication and engineering business in Glasgow, purchased the 6,000-acre Glengloy Estate, near Spean Bridge,Inverness-shire, after a three-year search for a Highland home.

He now spends half his working week at Glengloy and is passionately committed to developing the estate to help support the local economy. "I believe Scotland should be Scottish," he said. "And I am wholly convinced that Scottish estates benefit from being owned and run by native Scots.

"They have a closer interest in the long-term well-being of the estates. They are people that have been used to the Scottish way and are used to dealing with Scots, rather than some nameless and faceless person who maybe talks through an accountant.

"Owning a place like Glengloy has been a dream of mine for many years. My family and I aim to stay here for the rest of our lives, and we feel very connected with the local community."

Alasdair Douglas, whose grandfather was a crofter on Skye, is the new owner of the Glencarron Estate in Wester Ross.

Mr Douglas, who was born in St Andrews and now works as a lawyer in the City, bought the major share in the estate last December and spends as much time as he can with his wife and two teenage children at Glencarron.

He said: "My grandfather was a crofter on the Isle of Skye, so I do feel I have returned to my roots in some respects."

Glencarron is a mixed estate, offering river and loch fishing, stalking and grouse shooting and a number of cottages and lodges for holiday lets. Mr Douglas employs two staff on the estate and recruits additional staff for seasonal work.

The CKD Galbraith report also claims that the market for sporting estates is at its most buoyant for many years.

Mr Bound said: "The last time demand was like this, the price of such a property, when compared to a house in London, fuelled acquisitions from across the Border.

"Now, with the Scottish Parliament among other factors driving up prices in our own capital city of Edinburgh, and the north-south gap having closed substantially, a strong domestic market appears to have emerged."

History for sale

THE site where the 1715 Jacobite rebellion came to an end has been put up for sale.

The estate of Shiel in Wester Ross has been put on the market for 1.6 million, almost 300 years after the first Jacobite uprising, which supported the old pretender, James VIII, was crushed by Hanoverian soldiers.

The "little rising", which preceded Bonnie Prince Charlie’s more famous rebellion, ended at the Battle of Glen Shiel in 1719.

Now the estate, consisting of 14,000 acres of land as well as four prime properties, is on the market, after the board of trustees, headed by Lord Burton, decided to sell.

Andrew Rettie, a partner at law firm Strutt and Parker, is handling the sale and says that there has already been a lot of interest from abroad.

He said: "Most of the overseas interest has come from Europe and America, but we’ve had quite a lot of Scottish interest as well. We will fix a closing date for offers in November."

Dr Andrew MacKillop, a history lecturer at Aberdeen University, said that the Battle of Glen Shiel changed British attitudes towards the Jacobites.

He said: "One of the most important things about the battle is that there was a foreign presence backing the Jacobites.

"The Spanish proposed to favour a Jacobite rebellion to destabilise Hanoverian Britain. It was a smash-and-grab really.

"It changed the attitude of the British government at the time. They became a lot tougher in their treatment of the Jacobites and this was shown [at Culloden] in 1745.

"The estate has gone the same way as most Highland estates and has passed through various owners. It is an interesting place and has a lot of history behind it."

The 1715 rebellion was led by the Earl of Mar, John Erskine, who had originally voted in favour of the 1707 Union between England and Scotland.

Erskine, the home secretary until 1714, proved no match for the Duke of Argyll in military confrontations and the revolution died on the battlefield at Glen Shiel.

The Shiel Estate boasts the magnificent eight-bedroomed Glenshiel Lodge and three other cottages.

It is a haven for outdoor enthusiasts and country sports lovers with its grounds home to a wide variety of wildlife.

Mr Rettie said: "It has challenging and exciting red-deer stalking with an average cull of 40 stags and 83 hinds per annum.

"In addition, there is salmon and sea-trout fishing on six and a half miles of double-bank water on the River Shiel with a 15-year average catch of 40 salmon and 18 sea trout."