And finally… Orkney Islands hideaway with a £15,000 price tag goes under the hammer

The ‘old bicycle shop’, a single-storey, detached sandstone building on the seafront at St Margaret’s Hope on South Ronaldsay has stunning sea views over St Margaret’s bay and measures a bijou 215 sq ft.

The property is in need of complete renovation.

St Margaret’s Hope, with its population of 550, is Orkney’s third largest settlement after Kirkwall and Stromness.

Pugh managing director Paul Thompson said: “St Margaret’s Hope is a picture perfect village in a part of the world with a growing visitor economy. This quirky property has immense charm and could be redeveloped as very characterful holiday accommodation or as a small private house, subject to any prospective buyer obtaining the relevant planning consent.”

South Ronaldsay is linked to Orkney mainland by the Churchill Barriers, a series of four causeways and the smaller islands of Burray, Lamb Holm and Glimps Holm. The barriers were built in the 1940s primarily as naval defences to protect the anchorage at Scapa Flow, but now serve as road links across the islands.

For more information on the old bicycle shop on South Ronaldsay, and to view the full auction catalogue, go to www.pugh-auctions.com.