Anybody want to buy an island?

[D.H]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/8590687.stm

A Swiss businessman is thought to have paid about £2.5m for a small group of islands off the west coast of Scotland.

The deal includes the island of Sanda, which has its own pub but only one resident, as well as the neighbouring Sheep Island and Glunimore Insland.

The three islands lie off the tip of the Mull of Kintyre, 13 miles south of Campbeltown.

The sale was confirmed by Dick Gannon, who had owned the three islands for the past 20 years with his wife Meg.

The buyer was named locally as Michi Meier, who is originally from Switzerland but now lives in Sweden.

Mr Gannon, 59, said: "The island is sold, close to the asking price, to a customer sent over by Hamburg-based selling agents Vladi Private islands, but I can't say any more about the sale than that.

"The new owner is taking over at the end of April. It's a bit of a mystery what he is going to do but I am hoping it will go on as it is now, as a business, as a tourist destination."


I think it is a bargain. Sanda is a beautiful island, you can farm there and you have also got six self catering cottages and an award winning pub
Dick Gannon
Previous owner

Sanda had been on sale since August 2008. It was originally priced at £3.2m but dropped to offers around £2.5m.

Mr Gannon said: "I think it is a bargain. Sanda is a beautiful island, you can farm there and you have also got six self catering cottages and an award winning pub."

Mrs Gannon has always lived at the family home in Campbeltown while her husband was the island's only listed resident.

Although they have three sons and a daughter, none of their family was interested in taking over Sanda.

Mr Gannon said: "20 years we have had Sanda and it's been the experience of a lifetime really but it's a bit like hiding away and I now want to visit a few places and do a few things. There is a life outside Sanda."

Mr Meier could not be contacted, but has been speaking to a number of business people in Kintyre about services for the island in recent weeks.

Terry Smith, who owns farm land at Southend, near the Mull of Kintyre - the nearest mainland point to the 314 acre isle of Sanda - said Mr Meier had visited him last week.

Tourism destination

He said it was his understanding the new owner intended to run Sanda for his family's private use.

Kintyre Councillor Donald Kelly said: "I would sincerely hope that Sanda will stay as a tourism venue and that the community will be able to work constructively with the new owner to the benefit of Kintyre."

Sanda was home to only a few derelict buildings when the Gannons bought the three-isle chain for £250,000 in 1990.

Mr Gannon spent years building the island into a unique tourism destination, renovating the buildings into the award winning Byron Darnton tavern and six self catering cottages.

The Gannons, who marketed Sanda as "a piece of paradise", are selling up because of their decision to separate.

The island's 350 breeding ewes are included in the sale, along with chickens which produce free range eggs and enjoy such a good reputation that customers, including Princess Anne, have sailed in specially to buy them.

The other two islands in the chain are uninhabited apart from a flock of 60 Soay sheep on Sheep Island.

[bill]

Just noticed the reader's comment at the bottom of the report stating that Campbeltown is "akin to Royston Vasey".

"" David Swann wrote:
Just a shame there will be no ferry as I recall drinking there many years ago. In fact, it was once owned by someone in the band Cream. Good luck to him although he'll come to regret his neighbours: my hometown, Campbeltown, in my experience is akin to Royston Vasey and don't welcome strangers.""


Does anyone know David Swann,if that is infact his real name??

[4th gen Suthen']

Mr Swann is WRONG. Campbeltown does welcome strangers, every newcomer to the area gets the chance to intigrate and be part of the community. South Kintyre locals are renowned for being friendly, open and welcoming.

Some incomers don't want to be intigrated and become friends with the strange talking natives...droll eh!

I had just this conversation with my, Southend girl, fish supplier on Wednesday.

[£3.73]

350 sheep and no witnesses !

... bit of a bargain there !

[Crowth]

Campbeltown does welcome strangers, every newcomer to the area gets the chance to intigrate and be part of the community. South Kintyre locals are renowned for being friendly, open and welcoming.

I holidayed here for the past 15 years and then upgraded myself to an incomer 7 months ago and I have certainly found that to be the case. I know of no other place like it, the folks of Kintyre are fantastic.

[EMDEE]

There was a short article and a telephone interview with Dick Gannon on BBC News 24 tonight. He did not appear to be privy to much information as to the buyer's intentions other than to say that it looked like he was going to go "very up market". Maybe we plebs will not be welcome!

Other than that, I find it a bit sad that someone would put a post on a national newspaper website which gives such an inaccurate impression of what he claims is his home town. As we can see fron Crowth's post (which I think is fairly typical of the impression gained by incomers to the area), and our own local knowledge, this is patently not the case.

I will put it more bluntly than 4th gen Suthen'. Any incomers who think they are being made to feel unwelcome need to look to themselves to see where the problem is.

[4th gen Suthen']

that is exactly what my fish supplier and I said Emdee! she told me a tale of people who moved here who hated it BECAUSE people were so friendly and inclusive!

[WC1]

Pardon me for displaying my ignorance, but what, where, or who is Royston Vasey? I don't get out much . . .

[LANDROVER ROGER]

Pardon me for displaying my ignorance, but what, where, or who is Royston Vasey? I don't get out much . . .

Black comedy series,"The League of Gentleman".The village was named after that well known clean"comedian",Roy"Chubby"Brown".His real name is Royston Vasey.

[LANDROVER ROGER]

350 sheep and no witnesses !

... bit of a bargain there !

Got your over-size wellies ready then?

[Govangirl]

that is exactly what my fish supplier and I said Emdee!

That's several times you've mentioned that you have a fish supplier Gen - is that to do with a business you run or is it just someone that supplies you with your weekly household needs? If it's the latter, then as I have to drive to my fishmonger's, I think that's very friendly!!!

[Bonnie Lass]

There is a fish lady who travels around Kintyre with her van, lovely fresh fish, goes down a treat....

[4th gen Suthen']

Yes, that is her, an old Southend school contemporary of mine...I say old, not that she is old...she is much younger than me

Anyway, I hear, on the very local, grapevine that the Sanda bar will be OPEN this summer the Southend boats are now not being sold and will soon be creating a wake across the Soon o' Sanna again.