AN ISLAND estate featuring some of the wildest and most unspoilt scenery in Scotland is on sale – for less than £140 an acre.
The Aird Bheag Estate on Lewis can only be reached by boat, helicopter or a lengthy hike but it boasts some of the most gorgeous glens, lochs and beaches in Scotland.
The entire 2,754 acres – five times the size of the Olympic park in London – are for sale for £375,000, just £136 an acre.
Aird Bheag even comes with its own archaeological mystery as it is rumoured to be home to the missing Lewis Chessmen, believed to have been hauled ashore on one if its beaches.
The price tag also includes a rugged three bedroom house overlooking a stunning private bay, prefect to return to after a day of fishing or deer stalking.
In comparison, a 0.85 acres plot of land in Grimaldi Square in London is being marketed at £40m. A seven acre plot at Pacific Quay, Glasgow, which could fit into the estate almost 400 times, is for sale for £30m.
To reach isolated spot by car you would have to go over the bridge to Skye, get a ferry to Harris, drive along the winding roads of the village of Hushinish and launch a boat from the pier.
For those wanting a more direct route the there is an area for landing a helicopter adjacent to the estate house.
Aird Bheag is being sold by 37-year-old Rory Miller Mundy and his sister who grew up among the dramatic and remote landscape.
Their father Andrew, a lobster fisherman educated at Eton, bought the island retreat in 1971 and set about bringing running water and electricity to that part of Lewis for the first time.
When he passed away in 2000 the estate had solar panels and a power-generating wind turbine.
”It was the best place in the world to be a boy,” explained Miller Mundy.
“In the summer, there would be a succession of friends coming to stay.
“There was huge a huge joy in being able to go out in a small boat, set your own lobster pots, go diving for scallops or oysters, or head off to one of the beaches.
“We loved showing off that lifestyle to people who didn’t know anything about it.”
Speaking about Aird Bheag House he said: “It would be easy, and relatively inexpensive, to transform the house into a very comfortable place to live.”
Legend has it that the shores of loch Tealasavay, one of the three sea lochs that forms the estate, was where a Scandinavian ship carrying the Lewis Chessmen came ashore.
The elaborately worked walrus ivory and whales’ teeth pieces were found on a nearby beach in Uig in 1831 – but several are still missing.
The beautifully ornate 13th century carvings have fascinated historians for centuries and remain shrouded in mystery.
Believed to have brought to the Western Isles by a merchant travelling from Norway to Ireland they are on now on display at the British Museum and the National Museum of Scotland.
However the hunt is still on for the handful that have never been recovered.
Speaking about the Chessmen Miller Mundy said: “I love the idea that some of the missing pieces could still be hidden somewhere on Aird Bheag.”
He added: “I really hope whoever buys it gets as much enjoyment out of it as we have.
“Anyone who comes here never forgets it.”
The brochure for the estate from agent Knight Frank explains: “Aird Bheag Estate comprises approximately 2,754 acres of wonderful ground with a great mixture of hills, glens, burns, hill lochs and spectacular coastline which runs along three sea lochs and forms two peninsulas.
“It consists of two dramatic headlands superbly situated on the shores of Loch Tamanavay, Loch Resort and Loch Tealasavay.”
