A cliff-top Highland castle with spectacular views of the North Sea has gone on sale for offers over £25 million.
Dunbeath Estate in Caithness and its A-listed castle has hit the market for the first time in more than 25 years.
Savills, who are marketing the property for sale, describe the coastal estate as having “uncompromising” quality.
What does £25 million buy you?
The entire estate extends to 28,500 acres and includes a grouse moor and deer forest. There is a 500-acre stock farm and 12.5 miles of double bank fishing.
The castle, parts of which date to the 15th century, has 13 bedrooms, nine bathrooms and three reception rooms.
All the bedrooms bear the names of great naval battles above their doors.
In total there are 20 houses and cottages throughout the low ground of the estate, providing accommodation for employees, holiday cottages or long term lets.
There are four hill lochs and about four miles of rugged coastline.
Located 21 miles south of Wick, there are also extensive peatland restoration opportunities and renewables and development potential.
Search for Dunbeath Estate custodian
The sales brochure from Savills states: “Dunbeath Estate is a diverse all round estate of uncompromising quality, in a spectacular coastal location.
“The principal house is Dunbeath Castle, a magnificent castle on a cliff top setting above the north sea.
“The earliest parts of this Category A listed castle date from the 15th century but it was extensively remodelled in the 1860s in the grand Baronial style when the grounds were also transformed.
“The estate represents an unparalleled combination of historic architecture, a unique landscape recognised globally and one of Scotland’s great coastal wildernesses.
“In all weathers Dunbeath is a paradise of moorland, riverside and coastline.
“It is a place to relish the absolute personal remoteness and to create unforgettable childhood memories of water sports and swimming in the crystal clear waters, catching fish or enjoying a picnic with family and friends in one of the three lunch huts or bothies across the estate.”
Dunbeath Castle history
A castle is first recorded on the rocky peninsula at Dunbeath in 1428, when the lands belonged to the Earl of Caithness. The first recorded laird was Alexander Sutherland.
It later became the property of the Clan Sinclair through the marriage of the daughter of Alexander Sutherland to William Sinclair (1410–1484), the first Sinclair Earl of Caithness.
The Sinclairs replaced the earlier structure with a four-storey tower house in 1620 which remained in family occupation for 325 years.
The castle was extensively remodelled in the 17th century by Sir William Sinclair, and again in 1853 and 1881 when David Bryce was the architect.
From 1894 to 1945, the castle was owned by Vice-Admiral Sir Edwyn Alexander-Sinclair. Some of the buildings at Dunbeath still bear the Sinclair crest.
Since the war the estate has had four owners, two of whom were American citizens, before being bought in 1997 by Tertius and Claire Murray Threipland.
Mr Threipland, who was chairman of machinery manufacturer Kitagawa Europe, was found dead at another property in Wiltshire last month.
