0 Bed Country House For Sale

FEATURES

Extensive areas of open moorland with pockets of remnant native woodland varying between sea level and 292 metres (973 feet) in altitude.

Over 20 miles (32 km) of rocky coastline wrapping around the southern tip of Skye at Point of Sleat featuring a number of bays, inlets, coves and beaches.

About 1,055 acres (427 ha) of established and enclosed mixed species native woodland.

About 660 acres (267 ha) of enclosed forestry/woodland compartments planted in 2014 with grant support from the Scotland Rural Development Programme (SRDP).

The entirety of the Loch a’ Ghlinne and Allt Ghlinne river system which, together with the native woodlands throughout Gleann Meadhonach form an important ecosystem and a truly spectacular landscape lying right at the heart of the estate.

Over 17,000 acres (6,880 ha) of peat-based soils of variable depth with a feasibility study identifying a 1,400-acre (566 ha) area with restoration and carbon accreditation potential under The Peatland Code subject to grant funding application.

Extensive potential for further native woodland enhancement and creation with associated
carbon accreditation opportunities under the Woodland Carbon Code.

Potential for future wind development with an Exclusivity Agreement signed in favour of a Wind Developer.

A rich variety of terrestrial and marine flora and fauna including several rare and endangered species.

An environmental landscape recognised for its importance through four different Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), one Marine Protection Area (MPA) and one Special Area of Conservation (SAC).

A range of redundant 19th Century estate buildings together with other sites offering residential development and/or eco-tourism potential, subject to planning.

Traditional sportings including red deer stalking and rough shooting for mixed game including woodcock, snipe and wild duck together with sea trout and brown trout fishing.

Mixed land tenure including crofting and common grazings; a Limited Duration Agricultural Tenancy; Annual Grazing Agreements and land/woodland with vacant possession.

About 19,208 acres (7,773 ha) in total.

CURRENT OWNERSHIP HISTORY AND BACKGROUND TO SALE

South Sleat Estate represents the majority of the land ownership of the Clan Donald Lands Trust (CDLT). The estate once formed part of the
traditional lands of Clan Donald, indisputably the most renowned of all the Highland clans of Scotland. In 1971 these lands came up for sale
following the death of Alexander Godfrey Macdonald, 7th Lord Macdonald and High Chief of Clan Donald. A charitable trust, the CDLT, was founded by Clan Donald members local and worldwide in order to buy out part of the old
Macdonald Estate to preserve and promote the history, heritage and culture of Clan Donald.

The Clan Donald has exercised a powerful influence on Highland history. For almost 400 years the Clan ruled the western seaboards of
Scotland, controlling an empire big and powerful enough to challenge the Scottish kings.

Translated literally as ‘children of Donald’ it was named after Donald, grandson of the 12th century Gaelic hero Somerled. Donald gave his descendants and followers the name of Macdonald or the son of Donald. The Clan’s leaders were Lords of the Isles, ruling over a sea kingdom of
the western islands and west coast of Scotland, virtually independent of royal control. Their home and the centre of the Lordship was at Loch Finlaggan, on the Isle of Islay, often referred to as the Cradle of Clan Donald.

They remained Lords of the Isles until the forfeiture of the Lordship in 1493, when the Scottish king took the title away. However, the influence of Clan Donald survived.

Clan Donald is the oldest and largest of the Highland clans with many other clans owing their existence to the ancient Clan Donald Lordship of the Isles. More than 40 tartans are associated with the name, and the histories of the various clan
branches are intricately connected. The seven main branches – Antrim, Ardnamurchan, Clanranald, Glencoe, Glengarry, Keppoch and
Sleat – once held extensive estates from Ulster to Skye.

Clan Donald itself encompasses over 400 surnames in addition to the commonly known Macdonald, McDonald and MacDonell. These are listed on the High Council of Clan Donald website, which is an excellent resource.

Gradually, these lands were sold or confiscated. In 1971, the last remaining lands to be held by one
of the Clan chiefs came up for sale. These were the lands in Skye of which the subjects now for sale are the heart. Just under half of the lands
were purchased by the CDLT with the remaining majority being purchased by prominent Scottish businessman, the late Sir Iain Noble. Clan Donald
is still the largest clan in Scotland and the descendants of thousands of Macdonalds who emigrated also make it the largest in the world.

CDLT is a Scottish Registered Charity, Number SC007862, which is dedicated to promoting and preserving the history and heritage of Clan Donald,
the Lordship of the Isles, and the unique culture of the western seaboard of Scotland and the Hebrides.

The focal point of the estate and the activities of CDLT is at Armadale Castle, Gardens and Museum on the east coast of the peninsula just north of the
settlements of Armadale and Ardvasar.

In recognition of a desire to ensure the long-term financial stability of the charity as a custodian of the history and heritage of Clan Donald and local culture, the CDLT Trustees have taken the decision to offer the estate for sale as a whole.

It is the Trustees’ intention that the proceeds of sale will enable the charity to complete its restructure as a grant-giving body, enabling
investment in heritage and culture long into the future.

DESCRIPTION OF SALE SUBJECTS

The subjects of sale represent an extensive upland estate occupying a picturesque and richly varied
landscape of which the majority is bound by a coastline extending to just over 20 miles in total.

The estate has been managed by the current owners as an upland estate with varying land uses including traditional field sports; low intensity
livestock-based agriculture; forestry and woodland establishment/management; tourism and
landscape enhancement.

Whilst this matrix of land use and enjoyment can continue under new ownership in future, the owners acknowledge that the motivations for land ownership and use in Scotland have evolved in recent years in accordance with a wider imperative to tackle the global climate emergency with
opportunities for enhancement and restoration of natural landscapes and their component biological
species – particularly at landscape scale – offering powerful attractions to purchasers of various types.

In common with most parts of the northern and western Highlands of Scotland, crofting communities are a feature of both the cultural heritage and 21st Century population of the Sleat peninsula and they have various rights enshrined within Scottish legislation.

With several crofting townships occupying parts of the north-western and eastern coasts of the peninsula, substantial parts of the estate are
subject to both individual croft tenancies and common grazings rights necessitating a collaborative approach to current and future
management.

On account of its scale and composition, together with its mix of stakeholders and future opportunities, South Sleat Estate offers exceptional potential for purchasers to embrace land
management and nature restoration which provides extensive local, national and international
community benefit and can create a legacy of which the future owner, the community of Sleat, the Isle of Skye and the wider Scottish public can be truly proud.

EXISTING COMPOSITION/LAND USE

The existing composition and land use of the estate is summarised within the brochure (page 10).

FARMING

With land varying in elevation from close to sea level to 292 metres (660 feet) and with the vast majority comprising open hill land classified as grade 6 according to Scotland’s Soils online mapping data (‘land capable of use as rough grazings with a high proportion of palatable plants’), agricultural activity on South Sleat Estate – and the rest of Skye – is by means of low intensity grazing of sheep and cattle with the aim of producing lambs/calves for sale to be fattened ahead of slaughter on better land elsewhere.

Within South Sleat Estate, this type of farming is undertaken by a combination of crofters and
common graziers, together with one farm tenant and five annual graziers.

Situated on the eastern side of the estate and occupying the land lying either side of the Ostaig to Achnacloich minor public road is Armadale Home Farm – an area extending to around 2,400 acres of mostly open hill and rough grazing but also including some better quality fields of in-bye on the lower lying areas close to the coast.

Having been farmed on an in-hand basis by CDLT for many years, the economics of upland farming were such that the Trustees took the decision to grant a tenancy over this land and, on that basis, it is currently let under a Modern Limited Duration
Tenancy (MLDT) at an annual rent of £7,500. The lease was granted in November 2019 for a 15-year term until November 2032.

The tenant owns the registered Entitlements to the Basic Payment Scheme and his current system of farming is based on a flock of c.700 Scottish Blackface ewes and a small herd of around 26 suckler beef cows.

With no residential property included in the lease, the fixed equipment comprises a single general purpose shed with associated cattle handling facilities and sheep fank situated beside the
minor public road.

Within the let subjects – with an attractive southerly aspect lying about 50 metres from the public road – is a stone and tile-roofed bothy
which has potential for residential development subject to both resumption from the tenancy and
planning consent.

In addition to the subjects of the MLDT, there are two areas of open hill land/rough grazing which are leased annually to two separate graziers. Lying on either side of Gleann Meadhonach, at the heart of the estate, and extending to about 3,850 acres in total. The rent payable under these agreements in 2025 is £2,500. In addition, there are three
further smaller areas of hill ground leased annually for grazing at a combined rent of £1,300 in 2025.

Each agreement is renewable annually with no obligation for a purchaser to renew any of these
agreements beyond their current termination date.

WOODLAND AND FORESTRY

The woodland and forestry element of the estate comprises a combination of native (mainly broadleaved) woodland some of which is enclosed
to exclude deer and livestock and other parts of which are within the open hill ground, and young mainly coniferous plantations which were
established with grant support within the last 15 years.

The enclosed native woodland lies within Gleann Meadhonach being Gaelic for ‘Middle Glen’. The larger area extends to about 796 acres (322 ha) and occupies the north side of the glen together with part of the plateau above it.

This woodland is of national importance and is dominated by sessile oak and downy birch with a
variety of other species including ash, rowan and hazel. The Woodland Inventory suggests that there has been a continuity of woodland cover on the site for at least 230 years and that the woodland is likely to contain modified remnants of
Scotland’s original forest cover. The canopy is largely complete on the slopes to the north of the loch and includes stands of mature beech and Scots pine.

At the head of the glen and lying on either side of the access track is the smaller enclosure extending
to about 259 acres (93 ha). First enclosed in the 1990s to encourage natural regeneration of the remnant woodland, this has been successfully
established as a rich woodland ecosystem of varying density with all native species including birch, ash, rowan, willow, Scots pine, alder, aspen, hazel and holly well-established and thriving.

With areas of open heath and water courses diving the thickets and stands of trees, this wood is alive
with bird, animal and insect life with summer migrant bird species such as cuckoo, reed warbler,
grasshopper warbler, stonechat and wheatear being present.

Beyond these enclosures, similarly attractive and important unenclosed woods exist in the valley of the Gillean Burn and around the settlement of Achnacloich; and also on the north-western coast of the estate around Tokavaig.

On the eastern side of the estate are five enclosures of in-hand young forestry/woodland which extend in total to about 660 acres (267 ha)
combining the established crop and designed open ground within the enclosures.

Established under two separate contracts, these plantations were funded by the Scotland Rural
Development Programme which ran between 2007 and 2013 with planting having taken place at the
end of the scheme in 2014.

The estimated species composition of the enclosures, based on a recent independent assessment, can be found at page 13 of the sales brochure.

Approaching the end of the grant scheme contract, an independent assessment of these woods by a
forest management consultant has been commissioned by the vendors and is available to review on request from the selling agents.

CARBON SEQUESTRATION

According to data published by PeatScope on-line environmental mapping tool, there are in excess of
17,000 acres (7,000 ha) of peat-based soils at South Sleat comprising:

3,857 ha of deep peat soils (>50 cm)

1,309 ha of shallow peat soils (15 – 50cm)

1,797 ha of variable depth with rock outcrops.

The peatland condition categories that have been allocated to peatland areas on the estate, according to PeatScope data, can be found at page 14 of the sales brochure.

In order to understand and explore the opportunities for peatland restoration, a feasibility report was commissioned by Peatland Action
over a c.1,500-acre (600 ha) site on the north-eastern part of the estate around Loch Mhic Charmhiceil.

The study was undertaken and a report produced in 2021 by MNV Consulting Ltd. The main findings
of the report were:

A gross area extending to approximately 568 ha could be restored.

Erosion features included:

c.14km of small haggs (