Tam's Tall Tales

- Island is a Snip at £350,000


The northern tip of the island of Holm of Huip
Graphic © Rob Burke, via Wikimedia Commons)



Not Ideal For Commuters
An entire Scottish island has gone up for sale for £350,000 - less than half the price of a one-bedroom flat in central London.

Holm of Huip - one of the smaller of the Orkney Islands which lie 10 miles north of the Scottish mainland - boasts 62 acres of land, picturesque beaches a cairn (see picture above) and its own pod of seals. But the drawbacks to any potential owner are that the island is only accessible by boat or helicopter and has no electricity, running water or habitable buildings.

Holm of Huip lies just off the coast of Stronsay, a better-known Orkney island which has a population of around 350 and boasts a small airport. Graphic of a farm on Stronsay is © Des Colhoun via Wikimedia Commons.

The sales agent has listed the island for sale for around £350,000 - more than £400,000 lower than the average one-bed property in inner London. The seals and the ruins of a stone house are all that remains on the island, which is formed from old red sandstone.

If an interested party were to buy the island, it would be lived-on for the first time in more than 100 years, although there are current legal barriers restricting anyone from living there permanently, with short stays of up to three months in the summer generally permitted.


Please give me whatever feedback comes to mind via tamfromrampant@gmail.com.

Tam O'Ranter
February 2015

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