ECO-RETREAT PLAN FOR £500K LOCH ISLAND
THE last family to live on a private island in the middle of Loch Lomond have launched a bid to buy it and turn it into an eco-retreat.
Uninhabited Inchconnachan, which has a colony of wallabies, is on the market for £500,000 – and the daughter of the last man to live there 20 years ago has launched a crowdfunding campaign to buy it for community use.
Elise Wilkes-Brand, 28, spent much of her childhood visiting
Inchconnachan with her sisters after their father Tony moved there in the mid-1990s to become its warden. It has been owned by the Colquhoun family since the 14th century.
Architect Elise, from Devon, said: “We want to do everything we can to save the island and do with it what it deserves.”
Inchconnachan has a derelict 1920s bungalow, which was once the holiday home of Fiona Gore, Countess of Arran. The family’s vision is to restore the lodge as a visitor and education centre.
Elise also wants to rebuild the jetty to allow the public to safely visit, open a cafe and create a boardwalk through the woodland.
It is hoped to offer a retreat for disabled children on the island with camping pods also part of the plan.
Elise said: “The island was put on the market for £500,000, which we thought might achievable but we spoke to the estate agent a few days ago who said there had been a lot of interest already and that he didn’t think it would go for anything less than £1million.
“There is now a closing date of August 11, which means we need to raise double the original amount in three weeks.
“Whatever amount of money we receive, we will make an offer.”