The castle sits in a clifftop position on the Caithness coast, about 21 miles south of Wick in the north of Scotland. The village of Dunbeath has a village shop, post office and doctor’s surgery.

At the core of the estate is Dunbeath Castle, which was in the ownership of the Sinclair clan for an incredible four hundred years. Since the late 1990s Dunbeath has been home to the current owners whose family have long established links with Caithness. The estate includes an in-hand farm, a portfolio of let properties, natural capital opportunities, along with sporting and holiday enterprises.

‘A’ Listed, the Castle dates from the 15th century but was significantly remodelled in the 1860s in the Baronial style by David Bryce who also transformed the gardens and grounds. His landscaping idea of making the northern front of the castle symmetrical and approaching it down a mile long arrow straight drive in a classic “cut and fill” approach is considered to be a true masterpiece.

Savills said that the conical roofs and elegant turrets give the castle a fairytale charm but noted that it is its striking coastal presence as an imposing architectural beacon looking out to the North Sea which is what makes this a genuinely iconic building.

The castle has four expansive reception rooms sitting on the eastern side of the castle with large full height windows. In all there are 13 bedrooms (serviced by nine bathrooms), eight of which could be regarded as principal bedrooms and all bear the names of great naval battles above the doors.

The estate comprises 28,500 acres, 12.5 miles of river flowing from source to mouth, four hill lochs and lochans and about 4 miles of rugged coastline.

In total there are 20 houses and cottages, mostly of traditional stone construction, throughout the low ground of the estate, providing accommodation for employees, holiday cottages or long term lets.

Evelyn Channing from Savills said: “This sale represents an opportunity to acquire one of Scotland’s great castles and an estate in “The Flow Country”. At a time when there is great focus on the delivery of nature based solutions to counter our climate emergency, the vast tracts of peatland on Dunbeath will undoubtedly stimulate much interest.

“The current owners have invested a great deal of time, love and capital into Dunbeath Estate over the last 26 years and are now keen to see it develop and prosper further under the ownership of a new custodian who shares their enthusiasm for Caithness and has an exciting vision for its future.”