Lord Attenborough’s idyllic retreat goes on the market
Movie legend’s Scottish hideaway up for sale at offers over £680,000
THE former Scottish retreat of film legend Lord Richard Attenborough is being put on the market for offers over £680,000.
With its stunning views over the Kyles of Bute, Rhubodach Farmhouse, is where the late Lord Attenborough recharged his batteries away from the bright lights.
Now the five-bedroomed house, on the isle of Bute, is going up for sale, along with a smaller twobedroomed property, Keeper’s Cottage, and 48 acres of woodland, included in the price.
Rhubodach Cottage, a threebedroomed house with a garden and view of the water, is also for sale as a separate lot, at offers over £175,000.
Lord Attenborough, one of Britain’s most famous thespians, said the 1,700-acre Rhubodach estate, which he bought in 1988, had the “unmistakable feel of home”.
He was 86 when he sold most of the surrounding forestry land to a community buyout group for £1.5 million in 2010, retaining the main house, cottages and woodland.
As one of the leading lights of the film world, both as an actor and as a director, Lord Attenborough spent a lot of his time in London, using Rhubodach as his rural idyll.
Raymond Henderson, from the Perth office of selling agents Bidwells, said: “It is going on the market next week, it is actually a smashing place, he really loved it.
“It was the rural retreat where he relaxed and recharged his batteries.
“I was involved from the forestry point of view and I had a lot of
‘‘ It was love at first sight. We knew almost immediately that this was somewhere where we wanted to live
contact with the Attenboroughs. I can remember when we bought the place for him in the 1980s.
“He had actually been looking for a forestry investment and this place and the woodland came up for sale. It was just in the process of being planted and he just instantaneously fell in love with it.”
The star and his wife Sheila became regular visitors to the isle of Bute and Mr Henderson said: “The house and the buildings were really very dilapidated so the whole thing was just gutted and completely redone in their tastes, it has Richard Attenborough’s personal stamp on it.
“It wasn’t a new building by any means, but the whole of the interior was designed by them.”
He added that Lord Attenborough, the brother of natural world expert David Attenborough, had a deep interest in environmental projects and added: “It is as you would expect – having a brother like David.”
The forest, although it had an extensive area of commercial woodland also contained Sites of Special Scientific Interest for oak and birch woodland and they were very interested in that.”
Describing his love of Rhubodach, in a local tourist guide the year before he died, Lord Attenborough, who was President of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, said: “My wife Sheila and I had no idea what to expect. We had decided to invest in and support the natural world in some way and someone suggested that we take a look at the Isle of Bute.
“What we found exceeded all expectation. It was love at first sight. We knew almost immediately that this was somewhere where we wanted to live; the awesome peace and expansive beauty totally captivated us.”
After his death, aged 90, in 2014 the five-bedroomed Rhubodach Farmhouse, complete with a games room housed in a former barn,was kept on by his family as a holiday home, which they let out.