The Cuillins Up For Sale, Or Are They?

The upturn in the property market seems to have spread to Scottish mountains. Ben Nevis has been bought by the John Muir Trust for a cool £500,000 now the Cuillins are up for grabs, but are they?

What Can you Buy For £10 Million These Days? The half of Ruud van Nistelrooy that's still functional perhaps? About 50 per-cent of a Spice Girl or, if you fancy your own personal scrambling paradise, the classic Black Cuillins of Skye.

It goes like this: John Macleod, old Etonian chieftain of the clan MacLeod sprung a leak in the roof of his stately pile and the builders, like they do, asked for a cool £6.5 million to sort it out, cash in hand guv. MacLeod checked his piggy bank, found it was empty and so decided to sell the family allotment, aka the Cuillins.They're now on the market for a daft £10 million.

Apart from the thorny issue of quite who would stump up a cool ten million for a load of high friction rock, the case has opened a whole new can of tartan worms. MacLeod's claim to ownership is founded on arcane deeds dating back to the 17th Century when the clan was presented with lands in Skye by the king of Scotland, but research by the Ramblers Association of Scotland suggests that the deeds don't cover the Cuillins at all.

Initially the Crown Estate refused to investigate, but under pressure, has now agreed to look into the legality of the claim. On a wider level, the whole affair may have implications for Scottish access legislation currently being drafted, emphasising just how easy it would be for a private buyer to close access to one of Scotland's most beautiful ranges or even to open it up to industrial development and another super quarry.

Stay tuned to OUTDOORSmagic and we'll let you know how things progress.

Pushed For Time

Skye's Cuillin mountains are for sale at £10 million, but the seller may not even own them. For that you could have half a Spice Girl. Watch this space