Let’s play a little game of real estate fantasy.

You’ve got £5 million burning a hole in your pocket. You’re exhausted by hustle culture, 5-day inboxes, and people who don’t use their turn signals. You crave something slower, wilder — but not in a log-cabin-and-muck-boots kind of way.

More like:
→ Your own island off the west coast of Scotland.
→ A ruined castle that once belonged to a Shackleton expedition member.
→ Eight cottages, a farmhouse, and 1,110 acres of unspoiled wilderness.
→ Your own deer-stalking syndicate.
→ No tourists unless you rent to them.
→ Daily sea eagle sightings.
→ Power from solar and wind.
→ No HOA, no neighbors, no problem.

That’s what I’ve found in this property for sale in the Scottish Highlands. It just might be one of the most unique listings I’ve ever come across and I just know there’s someone out there who’s dreaming of owning this exact plot.

A Life of Luxury — and Seclusion

One of the fascinations that drives me to look at real estate across the UK and across the world is to see what your money gets in different places. And of course, after a few years living in London, you start to get a little cynical about what's possible. You mean that apartment is running one million pounds?

A lot of my drive with Pub and Property is to dream about other lives you could be living. Whether that's on the Dorset coastline or a cottage in the Cotswolds. But very rarely do I come across properties that give you an opportunity to own an entire island.

Of course, £5 million is no small chunk of change, but given that so much of this is a business, you could see there being the right kind of investor.

Shuna is a working estate with serious potential for both income and legacy.

• 🐑 Sheep farm: Around 220 Beulah ewes graze the land

• 🏡 Holiday lets: 7 of the 8 homes are fully rentable, sleeping up to 52 guests

• 🦌 Sporting estate: Red and fallow deer, pheasant shoots, woodcock stalking

• 🌱 Agri-subsidies: Eligible for government farming support

• 🔋 Off-grid power: Solar panels, wind turbines, battery storage, diesel generators

• 🌊 Private access: Two slipways, a helipad, and your own pier

The homes are rustic but comfortable, and guests return year after year for the quiet, the freedom, and the views. You could easily continue the current business model — or renovate and reposition for the luxury eco-tourism crowd.

A History That Spans Centuries

Shuna isn’t just postcard pretty. It’s layered with 9,000 years of human history and proof that sometimes the real stories are ten times better than you could even come up with in fiction.

The island is home to Stone Age burial mounds, Iron Age artifacts, and a tale from Saint Columba’s voyage, where he and his crew were stranded here before a “miraculous” wind carried them on to Iona. (This was written in Vita Columbae, one of the oldest texts from medieval Scotland.)

Later, Shuna became a lime kiln production hub with over 100 residents.

By the early 20th century, it was owned by explorers, magnates, and eventually Viscountess Selby, whose family farmed and managed the island for 80 years. They’re now ready to pass the torch.

🏛 The Castle, the Explorer, and the Architect Who Sank with the Titanic

In 1910, the island was bought by George Buckley — a New Zealand sheep farmer, gold rush heir, soldier, and member of Ernest Shackleton’s Antarctic expedition. Buckley had a mountain and an island named after him in Antarctica.

He commissioned a lavish 50-room castle on Shuna — all turrets and grandeur — overlooking the sea. His architect, planning to export the castle concept to America, boarded the Titanic in 1912. He didn’t make it.

The castle now stands in ruins, but its bones remain, and with it, a remarkable opportunity to restore or rebuild something truly unique. (Subject to planning, of course. But if you’ve gotten this far, you’re dreaming big already.)

Listing Info

📍 Listing Info:
🏷️ Guide Price: £5,500,000 | Freehold
📍 Location: Arduaine, Oban, Argyll, Scotland
🛶 Access: 10 mins by boat from Craobh Haven Marina
🔗 www.islandofshuna.co.uk

And while £5.5 million is no small sum, it’s also less than a townhouse in London’s Zone 1 — and a lot more interesting.

Shuna’s waiting.

The only question is: what would you do with an island?

Hit reply and tell us your fantasy plan — or forward this to someone who needs to dream a little today.

Until next week,
Pub & Property