Live like true royalty
EVERYBODY needs good neighbours, even the Queen, so the Royal Family will be watching with interest to see who snaps up the historic Abergeldie Estate next to their beloved Balmoral.The 11,512 acres and 34 properties at Abergeldie are for sale for the first time since King James III of Scotland gave them to the Gordon family in 1482.
That’s 539 years ago and it’s unlikely the land has ever been for sale in the way we would know it, although Queen Victoria’s husband Prince Albert bought part of the estate in 1848 to create Birkhall – now home to Prince Charles.
The Royal Family has been leasing sporting rights on Abergeldie since 1848, too, but whoever buys the £23million estate will have those salmon fishing rights on the River Dee and shooting rights on the land.
Although Abergeldie Castle is not for sale, the estate includes 2,683 acres of woodland and thousands of acres zoned for grant-supported woodland creation schemes. Newly planted woodland and peatland restoration are more income-generating carbon capture possibilities.The 600-plus acres of farmland focuses on livestock.
Included in the sale are 34 properties ranging from cottages, farmhouses and lodges to other domestic buildings.And with the estate’s position at the heart of the UK’s largest national park – Cairngorms National Park – a mix of buyers have already registered their interest.
“The property market in Royal Deeside is characterised by consistently high demand, with strong interest from buyers competing for properties as soon as they become available,” says a spokesman for the selling agent Fraser & Mulligan.
The estate is being sold privately through the Gordon family (abergeldieestate.com) and will not be split up but if investing in one of the largest estates in Scotland to ever go on sale is not for you, Aberdeenshire’s housing market holds other possibilities.
While the Abergeldie Estate is 45 miles from Aberdeen and its international airport, CALA Homes has a new development on the outskirts of the Granite City, which claims to be the oil capital of Europe and is vying to become a world leader in renewable energy. Aberdeen is Scotland’s third biggest city and is enjoying a modest house price recovery after a steep decline following the 2014 oil price crash.
CALA’s new Southbank development, 3.5 miles from the city centre, offers townhouses with flexible space for a home office or gym in larger properties.
It is set beside woodlands on the banks of the River Don with three, four and five-bedroom family homes plus apartments with one or two bedrooms. Three-storey, four-bedroom houses start from £329,000 (01224 042759; cala.co.uk) and have a garage and utility room on the ground floor as well as a bedroom that can be used as an office, playroom or lounge.
An open-plan kitchen, dining and family area is on the first floor, with French doors leading to a private terraced area, while the second floor has three bedrooms with one ensuite and a family bathroom.
“Our show home helps to illustrate what a fantastic option townhouses can be,” says CALA Homes (North) sales and marketing director Fraser Carr.
Southbank may not have the history of the Abergeldie Estate but Aberdeen has its fair share of historic buildings, from the Tolbooth Museum and Art Gallery to the Maritime Museum in a 16th century house a short walk from the harbour.And if you’re interested in Abergeldie’s history, Aberdeen has the Gordon Highlanders Museum telling the story of the two British Army regiments with their roots in Clan Gordon.