Scots castle on sale for same price as London flat

Balbegno Castle has a list price of £595,000 and its sale is part of the wider sell off of 28 lots making up the Fasque Estate which sits between Dundee and Aberdeen on the eastern fringe of the Grampian mountains.

Buyers in London would be looking at a two bedroom flat or modest house for the same figure according to a search on website Right Move.

However the new owner of Balbegno Castle will have a property set in 20 acres of Parkland along with six bedrooms and three reception rooms – including a Great Hall- set out over two floors.

Surrounding the castle is an extensive garden including a croquet lawn, beds of roses and other plants and shrubs, and several ornamental trees.

The Fasque Estate was originally owned by the Ramsays of Balmain from the 15th century however they ran into financial difficulty and sold it to the Gladstone family in 1829.

Leith-born John Gladstone was a grain merchant in Liverpool and made his fortune trading in corn and cotton.

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He was made a baronet by Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel in 1846 however he died a few years later.

His son was William Gladstone, the four time British Prime Minister, who was a regular visitor to the estate.

The current owner of the estate is Charles Gladstone, a great, great, great-grandson of William, who inherited the estate.

He said: “The original castle dates back to 1560, and with a beautifully proportioned Georgian wing added in the 18th century.

“Fasque has been part of our family for generations and we are very sad to let it go.

“In particular, I am immensely proud of the work we have done to Balbegno Castle and the house it is today.

“However we do not live there and cannot do justice to it or the estate. We feel the time has come to move on and allow a new owner to take it on and nurture it in a way we are unable to do.”

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