Going, going, gone? Most northerly castle is up for auction … again
Andrew Hirst
The most northerly castle in Britain has gone on sale for the third time in barely a year.
Muness Castle in Unst is listed on Future Property Auctions with a £175,000 guide price.
The Grade A listed building was reported as having sold for £184,000 last April, only to appear back on the market the following week.
At the time, its asking price had shot up to a cool quarter of a million pounds, while the size of the estate had shrunk by a third from 240 to 160 acres.
According to title deeds, the building is still owned by Gavin Farquhar of Ecclesgreig Estate, who paid £65,000 for it in 2014.
Built in 1598 for Laurence the Bruce, the castle also comes with a number of crofter’s cottages and barns.
Its listing says gold and copper reserves were discovered in a recent geological survey, which would be included in the freehold purchase.
Historic Environment Scotland, which maintains the building, describes it as a “splendid example of tower house architecture” which is “full of delightful touches”.
Bidding ends at 3pm on Thursday.
Allen Fraser
I see that you have removed reference to Robert the Bruce which was an almost unbelievably stupid statement.
Maybe a little bit more research would reveal that it wasn’t built for someone called “Laurence the Bruce”, not even colloquially. No