An idyllic 453-acre private island is for sale off the west coast of Scotland and boasts sandy beaches, puffins galore, seven houses, a pub, a helipad and a flock of black-faced sheep.
Sanda Island lies between Scotland and Northern Ireland, off the southern tip of the Kintyre Peninsula, made famous by the 1977 song “Mull of Kintyre” by Paul McCartney and Wings.
Over the years, it has had historical connections with monks, saints and kings. It was visited by the Scottish king Robert the Bruce and the Norwegian king Hacon and its chapel has associations with St Columba and St Ninian. The island has had numerous owners over the years, but the most famous is Jack Bruce of the rock band Cream.
Access to the island is by boat (there are stone steps at both ends) or by helicopter. There, among the bucolic greenery bordered by a rocky cliff, are seven residential properties: four at the northern end and three at the southern end, right next to a picturesque lighthouse perched on an outcrop.
Accommodation seats 26, which is enough for a small crowd at the Byron Darnton Tavern, named after a ship that was wrecked off the island in 1946. It was founded in 2003 by previous owners Dick and Meg Gannon and for several years it served customers arriving by boat, but closed after the island was purchased in 2010 by Swiss businessman Michi Meier.
A pub of its own
The pub “received a lot of press coverage and was open during the summer months,” explains Tom Stewart-Moore, rural agency director for Scotland at Knight Frank, the agency handling the sale. “For the next owner, he offers the opportunity to keep the property as his own private getaway or to diversify and extract some money by offering exclusive use and unique stays with high-end accommodation. “There is also the option of reopening the pub to offer something for people cruising along the west coast.”
It still has the alcohol license, in case the next owners want to revive the tavern, and it also has a registered operating code. The island formerly had a small farm and a flock of 55 blackface sheep still call the island home.
“Sheep look after themselves, they are the island’s lawnmower and require little attention,” says Stewart-Moore. “They are included as part of the sale.”
There’s wildlife and livestock: bird watchers can delight in colonies of puffins, gulls, shags, shags, razorbills and many more feathered residents.
If all this wasn’t charming enough, Sanda is also known locally in Argyll and Bute as “Spoon Island”, due to its resemblance to an upturned spoon. It is also one of the few Scottish islands to print its own stamps.
The island has seven residential buildings. (Courtesy of Knight Frank via CNN Newsource)
The island is 23 meters high (75 feet) at its highest point and on a clear day you can see the Antrim Hills of Northern Ireland, about 20 miles away across the North Channel. Campbelltown in Scotland is the main boat access to the island, and has a large marina, several whiskey distilleries and Scotland’s oldest cinema.
the little money
Knight Frank says the seller is seeking offers above £2.5 million ($3.1 million). Also included in the sale will be a pair of additional islands: the 31.72-acre Sheep Island and tiny Glunimore Island (4.41 acres).
Most of the accommodation on the island has been recently renovated and double glazing has been added. “Power is currently generated on the island by three generators,” says Stewart-Moore. “However, there is an opportunity for the next owners to explore renewable energy sources to complement or enhance the electricity on the island.”
He says they have already received “a large number of viewing requests.” As for the profile of the type of people who might invest a few million in buying an island, Stewart-Moore says: “Potential buyers will predominantly fall into two categories; or a wealthy individual will purchase it to use for himself and keep private. “Or it will be someone looking to market the pub and buildings, improve or increase the farming operations on the land and potentially go down the path of self-sufficiency.”
If you want to tend your sheep and go off-grid this year, start checking the back of the couch for pennies. Sanda Island awaits you.