Chance to return unit to traditional cropping rotation

A Buchan farming estate with a two-mile, private stretch of beach and 200 acres of sand dunes has been put on the market.

Offers of more than £ 4.5million are being sought for Kinloch, at St Fergus.

Until 2009 the 1,148-acre estate was run as an intensive arable unit. Since then it has undergone a transformation and, under its current owners, has been largely returned to grassland, thanks to grant assistance from the Scottish rural development programme.

Selling agent CKD Galbraith says the sale offers a chance to return the unit to a traditional cropping rotation, including cereals and vegetables. Grazing is currently let out annually to three local farmers.

The estate has its own shoot, with about 7,500 partridges and pheasants released annually for 20 shooting days. The average shoot bag is 150 to 200 birds a day. Wild fowl are shot on Kinloch Loch.

The main home, Kinloch House, is a listed building and dates to the 1820s. It has seven bedrooms.

John Bound, of CKD Galbraith, said: “The sale of Kinloch offers a truly wonderful opportunity to acquire an exceptional estate with a lovely family house, quality farmland and great sporting opportunities in a sought-after region.

“The quality of farmland in Aberdeenshire is renowned in the farming market and the current owners have worked extremely hard to maximise the opportunities available at Kinloch.

“This is a particularly alluring estate and we expect it to generate special interest as a result of the variety and the sport it has to offer, along with the beautiful dunes and the two-mile stretch of golden sandy beach that also comes with the estate.

“The north-east market has seen healthy demand for property of this quality in recent times and we expect that Kinloch will receive a similar level of attention from purchasers.”

Two 800-kilowatt wind turbines were planned in 2012 but the application was refused because of an objection from the Ministry of Defence and landscaping and visual impact. The sales brochure, however, reveals that significant progress has beenmadesince thenanda fresh planning application is being considered.