Dave, owner of a holiday house on Jura, sent me a link to the website of www.struttandparker.com where you can find information about Ardfin Estate, which is currently for sale, for more than £3,500,000. If you can spare the money you get one of the most beautiful estates in Scotland, in a superb location, including beautiful gardens, Jura House, a stunning coastline, farms, cottages and stalking. Let me quote a couple of paragraphs from the website: “The Jewel of Jura – an outstanding sporting estate including Jura House and its internationally-renowned gardens, several houses and cottages, prolific red deer stalking, with 10 miles of coastline and 7 private islands. Ardfin Estate is a residential, agricultural and sporting estate with a principal house with magnificent gardens and superb location at its core, a range of habitable houses and cottages, an extensive set of traditional outbuildings, modern farm buildings, an in-hand stock farm, and exciting sport including red deer stalking, low ground game shooting and sea fishing.

With a predominantly southerly aspect, over 10 miles of coastline and a climate that is cushioned by the Gulf Stream, Ardfin extends to about 11,595 acres and is an estate which is described by the inhabitants of Jura as the most significant on the island. Occupying the majority of the southern part of the island, and rising to an elevation of over 1,500 feet above sea level, the views from most parts of the estate to nearby Islay, the Mull of Kintyre and (on a clear day) Northern Ireland are one of its outstanding features.”

The nice thing about a sale is that you get a good overview of the estate including detailed information of Jura House and the other outbuildings which is otherwise not so easy to get. The PDF brochure shows some nice interior images of Jura House including floorplans and some really nice images.

One of the interesting features of the sale is that there it includes seven uninhabited islands: “Each of these is uninhabited with the exception of Castle Island, south of Ardfin Farm, which includes the ruined remains of Claig Castle – a one time stronghold of Clan MacDonald. There are no manmade structures or development of the islands. Off the east coast of the estate, and situated in the bay which faces the settlements of Craighouse and Keils, are four small islands, the English names of which are Flat Island, Rabbit Island, Little Rabbit Island and Goat Island. Lying off the southern coast of the estate on the edge of the Sound of Islay are three more islands called Brosdale, Castle and Green Islands. With no more practical use than being a very pleasant place for a picnic and for grazing by deer, which periodically swim out to them, the islands are a haven for nesting sea and shoreline birds including oyster catchers, ringed plovers, eider and shellduck, and various species of gull. Common seals and otters are also a frequent sight on and around these islands.”

For more information check out this link or read all about the estate in the PDF brochure