Cliff-top castle and 30,000 acre estate on the market for £25m

Dunbeath Estate and Castle, which sits on the Caithness coast, features 13 bedrooms and comes with around 12 miles of river.

Calum Loudon

12th Jul 2023

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A cliff-top castle and its Highland estate spanning nearly 30,000 acres has gone on the market – for offers over £25m.

Dunbeath Estate and Castle, which sits on the Caithness coast, was owned by the Sinclair clan for four hundred years.

The castle, which dates back to 1620, features 13 bedrooms and sits on an ancient defensive site overlooking the Moray Firth.

Property agents Savills have said that the sale also comes with 20 houses and cottages, a 500-acre farm, a sporting lodge with nine bedrooms, a deer forest, grouse moor and fishing rights.

Around 12 miles of river – from its source in hills to where it flows into the sea – is also included.

The property was significantly remodelled in the 1860s in the grand Baronial style by David Bryce who also transformed the gardens and grounds.

A spokesperson for Savills 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.

“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.”