Offers over £25m sought for Dunbeath Estate and 13-bedroom castle
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Dunbeath Estate and its 13-bedroom castle have gone on the market with offers over £25 million being sought.
As well as the category "A" listed cliff-top castle, the sale includes 20 houses and cottages, a 500-acre farm, a sporting lodge with nine bedrooms, a deer forest, grouse moor and fishing rights.
In all it extends to some 28,500 acres.
The estate and castle are being marketed by property agents Savills. The company points to "extensive peatland restoration opportunities", "diversified letting income" and "renewables and development potential".
Savills' Evelyn Channing said: “This sale represents an opportunity to acquire one of Scotland’s great castles and an estate in the Flow Country. At a time when there is great focus on the delivery of nature-based solutions to counter our climate emergency, the vast tracts of peatland on Dunbeath will undoubtedly stimulate much interest.
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"The current owners have invested a great deal of time, love and capital into Dunbeath Estate over the last 26 years and are now keen to see it develop and prosper further under the ownership of a new custodian who shares their enthusiasm for Caithness and has an exciting vision for its future.”
Savills states: "At the core of the estate is Dunbeath Castle, an exceptional and historic family home which was in the ownership of the Sinclair clan for 400 years. Since the late 1990s Dunbeath has been home to the current owners whose family have long established links with Caithness.
"The diverse and extensive estate includes an in-hand farm, a portfolio of let properties and natural capital opportunities, along with sporting and holiday enterprises.
"‘A’ listed, the castle dates from the 15th century but was significantly remodelled in the 1860s in the grand Baronial style by David Bryce who also transformed the gardens and grounds. His visionary landscaping idea of making the northern front of the castle symmetrical and approaching it down a mile-long, arrow-straight drive in a classic 'cut and fill' approach is considered to be a true masterpiece.
"Conical roofs and elegant turrets give the castle a fairytale charm, but it is its striking coastal presence as an imposing architectural beacon looking out to the North Sea that makes this a genuinely iconic building.
"Behind its grand exterior and wonderful period features, Dunbeath Castle is a much-cherished family home offering ample space for entertaining and accommodating guests in great comfort with four expansive reception rooms sitting on the eastern side of the castle with large full-height windows to take full advantage of the magnificent sea views.
"In all there are 13 bedrooms (serviced by nine bathrooms), eight of which could be regarded as principal bedrooms, and all bear the names of great naval battles above the doors.
"The beautifully designed gardens and grounds are truly outstanding and form a wonderful contrast to the exposed and rugged natural surroundings. The centrepiece of the policies is a matching pair of walled gardens, one either side of the sunken drive – an award-winning formal ornamental garden rich with roses and seasonal floral colour, the other more minimalist in style with smooth lawn, sculptural grasses and contemporary water features.
"Comprising 28,500 acres of spectacular topography, 12.5 miles of river flowing from source to mouth, four hill lochs and lochans and about four miles of rugged coastline, Dunbeath offers an excellent variety of sport including walked-up grouse shooting over pointers and red deer stalking. The moor is considered to be one of the best areas for hunting with peregrine falcons in the country.
"The steep-sided Dunbeath Strath presents first-class driven pheasant and partridge, while the Dunbeath Water is a beautiful river offering salmon and sea trout fishing. The estate, most unusually, encompasses a full river system from catchment to ocean.
"With this variety of wild sport, the months of August and September offer the rare privilege and challenge of obtaining a ‘Macnab’ (bagging a salmon, stag and brace of grouse within one day between dawn and dusk from a single estate) whilst staying in Balcraggie Lodge (three reception, nine bedrooms and five bathrooms).
"As well as the superb sport it has to offer, the estate is a rich environmental and ecological habitat supporting a fascinating array of bird life, wildlife and flora. It is therefore of significant conservation value with considerable potential for a variety of conservation or peatland restoration projects.
"These rich natural assets may provide exciting opportunities for significant income generation and capital growth.
In total there are 20 houses and cottages, mostly of traditional stone construction, throughout the low ground of the estate, providing accommodation for employees, holiday cottages or long-term lets.
"With fertile pasture along the coastline and extensive upland grazing, the in-hand farm supports a commercial herd of 60 suckler cattle and a flock of 500 breeding ewes, producing quality beef and lamb in a natural environment."
