Press release -

Mòr for your money

An outstandingly beautiful 800-acre island off the north-west coast of Scotland, which is on the market for £2.5m, has attracted interest from around the globe, including India, New Zealand and the Falkland Islands.

Tanera Mòr is the largest and only inhabited island in the Summer Isles archipelago, in Wester Ross and is managed and run as a successful tourist enterprise.

It comprises of self catering holiday lets, creative and active residential courses, a RYA-recognised sailing school and a café and post office which cater for tourist boats from Ullapool and Achiltibuie, as well as cruise boats, yachts and sea kayakers. The island benefits from three jetties, freshwater lochs and deep sheltered anchorage.

It went on the market in May and selling agents CKD Galbraith said there had been “large numbers” of enquiries from as far afield as Australia.

The current owners, the Wilder family, bought the island in 1996 and have been resident ever since. The island is currently managed by their daughter Lizzie and her husband Richard Williams. Their ethos is to encourage wildlife to the island and use its existing assets to create a sustainable economic environment.

Over the past 15 years, the Wilders have planted in excess of 164,000 native trees as part of an ongoing woodland regeneration scheme. With no deer, and sheep only in a very restricted area, the trees have flourished, creating a lush and green landscape.

John Bound, from CKD Galbraith, said:

“We have had a lot of enquiries from all over the world, including India, Australia, New Zealand and the Falkland Islands. The island is still available though and we get queries about it pretty much daily.

“These islands always generate interest - the last island I sold was Taransay, two years ago, and there was a huge amount of interest in that because of the Ben Fogle link. There has been a similar level of interest in Tanera Mòr - which is more of a working island - and as a result of that, we’ve had a lot of enquiries. I’ve just been asked for more information on it from three different people today.

“We’ve also had a couple of viewings. Islands don’t come up for sale very often and living here is definitely a lifestyle choice.”

Scott Armstrong, VisitScotland Regional Director, said:

“Tanera Mòr is a wild and breathtaking island and shows off Scotland’s rugged beauty at its very best. In this, the Year of Natural Scotland, what better example of natural beauty than this island, which has a stunning landscape, successful tree regeneration and a variety of insects, wildlife and birds.

“Who wouldn’t want to own their own Scottish island and with such fantastic and unique views, perhaps this could be the one!”

The Wilder family held discussions with the local Coigach community to establish whether they would be interested in buying the island, before offering it on the open market. The Coigach Community Development Company decided not to proceed with the opportunity due primarily to the number of projects they are currently managing.

Lizzie Williams said:

“After many happy years of calling Tanera home, it is time for someone else to have the privilege of looking after this amazing place. We greatly appreciate the effort made by the local Coigach community to consider the opportunity of taking on Tanera and we fully understand their reasons for deciding not to. We hope that whoever owns the island in the future will enjoy the same warm and co-operative relationship with the community that we have for the past 17 years.”

For more information on the sale of Tanera Mòr, visit http://www.ckdgalbraith.co.uk/

ENDS

For further information contact

Kim Walton

Corporate Press Officer - North

Tel: 01224 269187 Mob: 07805 802508

kim.walton@visitscotland.com

(Wed-Fri)

Lorna MacLennan

Corporate Press Officer - North

Tel: 01463 252432 Mob: 07785 515469

lorna.maclennan@visitscotland.com

Topics

  • Tourism

Categories

  • corporate communications

Regions

  • Scotland

Notes to Editors:

  • Follow us on twitter: @visitscotnews
  • VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourism organisation. Its core purpose is to maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Scotland. 
  • The organisation has three key roles:
  1. To market Scotland to all parts of the world to attract visitors
  2. To provide information – and inspiration – to visitors and potential visitors so they get the best out of a visit to Scotland
  3. To provide quality assurance to visitors and quality advice to the industry and partners to help the industry meet and strive to exceed customer expectations
  • VisitScotland works together with tourism businesses to make tourism a success for everyone and ensure the industry continues to grow.
  • The organisation employs 700 people and has offices and VisitScotland Information Centres across Scotland.
  • 2014 is the year Scotland welcomes the world, when it hosts the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles and more than 800 Homecoming events throughout the country.For more information on Homecoming Scotland 2014, go to www.visitscotland.com 
  • The VisitScotland Information Centre network is a unique face-to-face channel engaging with around five million visitors and locals each year. Everyone who uses a VisitScotland Information Centre goes on to spend an additional £5.35, generating over £24 million for Scotland’s economy. 
  • According to a recent Deloitte study, tourism employs 270,000 people in Scotland in 20,000 diverse businesses. The same study calculates that the industry contributes £11 billion annually (direct and indirect impact, including day visits) and supports around 10 per cent of employment in Scotland. Almost 16 million tourists take overnight trips to Scotland.
  • For VisitScotland’s press releases go to http://www.visitscotland.org/media_centre.aspx, tourism statistics and frequently asked questions go to http://www.visitscotland.org/ 
  • Where possible, a Gaelic speaker will be made available for broadcast interviews on request (Far an tèid iarraidh, agus far am bheil sin nar comas, bruidhinnidh neach le Gàidhlig aig agallamh)
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  • For more information on VisitScotland’s annual review please go to www.visitscotland.org/about_us/our_focus/annual_report.aspx

Contacts

Chelsea Charles

Press contact Scotland’s Themed Years Communications & Engagement Manager Contact for media enquiries on: Scotland’s Themed Years (i.e. 2018 Year of Young People; 2020 Year of Scotland's Coast and Waters; 2022 Year of Scotland's Stories) 0131 472 2067

Carrie MacWilliam

Press contact Senior Corporate Press Officer - National Contact for media enquiries on: Travel media (Scotland); Year of Young People; UK Marketing; Dundee; Fife; Angus; Perthshire 0131 472 2052

Amelia Whittaker

Press contact Senior Corporate Press Officer - Regional Contact for media enquiries on: South Region; Edinburgh and Lothians; Food and Drink; Scottish Thistle Awards 01750 723806