Duke sells land for ski resort in Scotland’s highest village
Jasmine Cameron-chileshe
Jessica Carpani
A MILLIONAIRE aristocrat has agreed to sell land in Scotland’s highest village under plans to transform the area into a skiing and gold-panning destination.
Richard Scott, the 10th Duke of Buccleuch, is selling 3,863 acres from his 83,000-acre Queensberry Estate to Wanlockhead residents after proposals to develop the village into a ski resort.
The Wanlockhead Community Trust (WCT), a group set up to take ownership of the land, has outlined proposals to bring more tourists to the village, which sits 1,530ft above sea level in the Lowther Hills, Dumfries and Galloway.
The trust hopes that the village will become a destination hotspot drawing visitors to the proposed ski and mountain resort, which will rival Glencoe and Aviemore.
With a provisional agreement reached and hopes of a final deal later this year, visitors to the site could soon enjoy the steep cycling routes as well as music, arts and nature-themed festivals.
Construction of new bike trails, zip wires, an upgrade to the Lowther Hills ski club and a new caravan and camping site have also been suggested as part of a business plan produced by trust members. The trust will also take over mineral rights of the rivers that run off the Lowther Hills, a key goldpanning area, which will raise revenue through the sale of licences.
Lincoln Richford, chairman of WCT, said: “There are a few things that we haven’t really exploited and one of them is being the highest village in Scotland. If we had a sign that said ‘Scotland’s highest village’ then I think it would draw more people, as with John o’ Groats or Land’s End.”
Mr Richford stressed the importance of community ownership, which could provide villagers with numerous opportunities, including business development, affordable housing, habitat restoration and agriculture.
He said: “If you didn’t own the land, you couldn’t do any of these things as it would always be up to the Duke what he wanted to do. The whole point of community ownership is to develop the potential around the community.”
The deal is being handled by Scottish Land and Estates and once a value for the land is reached, the community will be able to access up to 95 per cent of funds from the Scottish Land Fund for the transaction.
The Duke, who is worth £230million, lives with his family at Drumlanrig
Castle, on the Queensberry Estate in Dumfriesshire.
♦ A tunnel below Loch Linnhe, costing more than £100million, may be set to replace ferries between the Ardnamurchan Peninsula, the Western Highlands and Fort William if the Highland council’s plans are approved. The ferry costs £8.50 per car and £1 a day on foot.
In panning for gold, if a rival has found a big nugget, does that make it more or less likely that you will find one? There used to be a similar problem in the days not so long ago when people sometimes wanted to catch a taxi and saw one had just gone past. At least it showed that the little yellow taxi light, or the yellow glint of gold, was not unknown in those parts. A couple of years ago, a gold-panner found a nugget worth £10,000 near Wanlockhead in Dumfriesshire, an area from which gold was once taken for the £3 coins minted by Mary Queen of Scots. And now the Duke of Buccleuch has sold off to a community project 3,000 acres round Wanlockhead, including a gold-panning centre. He’ll still have nearly 280,000 acres left, but if it’s gold he wants he’ll have to stake his claim along with everyone else.