Private Scottish Island With 17th Century Mansion and Organic Farm Lists for £1.75 Million

A Scottish island with sweeping waterfront views and a historic mansion, as well as a watchtower and acres of grazing fields full of sheep has come on the market for £1.75 million (US$2.1 million).

Located in the Shetland Islands archipelago, The Isle of Vaila is home to a restored 17th-century mansion house as well as unparalleled natural amenities, including approximately 6.5 miles of coastline and 757 acres that are home to organic farmland, moorland, peat banks, pebble beaches, rocky cliffs and grazing fields that currently host a flock of 200 Shetland ewes.

An 1894 Bell Tower on the island has four bedrooms including a primary suite with a secret passage through to the tower bedroom, and panoramic views of the surrounding Vaila, Wester and Easter sounds, according to marketing materials from Savills, which announced the listing Friday. The waters surrounding the island are home to wildlife including orcas and otters, per the listing, and the island is well set up for boating and sea fishing.

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“This is a wild and beautiful part of the world,” said Savills agent Luke French in an emailed statement. “The juxtaposition of the dramatic, elemental land and seascape with the exquisite craftsmanship of historic Vaila Hall makes for a quite extraordinary property.” Mr. French shares the listing with colleague Emma Dalglish.

The main residence, Vaila Hall, was built in the 17th century and later adapted into a grand residence for entertaining, according to marketing materials. A baronial great hall boasts a large stone fireplace, a ‘minstrels’ gallery,’ and full height stained glass windows. Vaila Hall has six bedrooms and a total of four reception rooms.

In addition to large-scale hosting, the island has a rich history of farming, and in 1994 became the first farm in Shetland to gain organic status, according to Savills. In addition to its acreage and sheep, three walled gardens have been carefully tended to by the current owners to create a thriving environment for local flora. The walled gardens are surrounded by 100-year-old sycamore trees.

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The island is “a rare prize indeed for the next owner but also one which benefits from practical forethought by the sellers with the shore base building providing ease of access and the farming enterprise, farmhouse and cottage creating a variety of opportunities,” Mr. French said. (The island has a shore base on mainland Shetland “at the end of a sheltered inlet off Vaila sound,” per the listing. It was built in 1998.) 

The sellers, who could not be identified, purchased the property in 1993, according to Savills.

Numerous other buildings on the island include a caretaker’s cottage, farm sheds, two stone cottage ruins, two piers and a 19th-century farmhouse. At the farmhouse, an adjacent byre, or cowshed, nicknamed The Whale House contains the 42-foot skeleton of a whale that was beached on the island in 2000, per the listing.