Country house for sale

*Closing Date 10th December*

CURRENT OWNER'S OBJECTIVES FOR SALE
Highlands Rewilding’s mission is nature recovery and community prosperity through rewilding taken to scale in Scotland, and then beyond.

They seek to help rewild and re-people the Scottish Highlands by increasing carbon sequestration, growing biodiversity, creating green new jobs and generating sustainable profit for purpose.

The company’s land management actions and objectives are science-led, aiming to accelerate nature-based solutions that can help fight the existential and related crises of climate meltdown, biodiversity collapse, and social inequality, whilst helping to rebuild local economies.

Tayvallich is one of three current sites being managed as a multi-habitat open air natural capital laboratory, generating data that can reliably underpin credits in natural capital, so making the nature-recovery industry confidently investable.

The work at Tayvallich is rooted in the community, as the company aims to break new ground in consultation, partnership and involvement with the communities of which it is a part.

Highlands Rewilding employs a combination of land management activities: ecological restoration, regenerative agriculture, forestry management and regeneration, community engagement and recreational management, and carefully monitors outcomes including through experimental research.

An explanation of the envisaged future management model under either the Nature and Community in Perpetuity (NCIP) or Operating System Partnerships for Rewilding (OSPREY) is set out within the brochure.

If prospective purchasers are interested in the concept of owning Ulva and the Isle of Danna but prefer a free hand to manage the estate in future without the continued involvement of Highlands Rewilding Ltd, they are also welcome to arrange viewings and submit offers but this should be on the understanding that offers from those purchasers willing to embrace the future management of the estates under NCIP or OSPREY will be looked upon more favourably.

ULVA AND THE ISLE OF DANNA
Ulva and the Isle of Danna form an outstandingly scenic estate with multiple properties and hosting an exceptionally diverse mosaic of habitat types. A wide variety of wildlife abounds throughout the estate, including rare and migratory species of international significance.

Recognised for this area’s biodiversity and species of importance, Ulva and Danna are largely covered by the Ulva, Danna and McCormaig Isles SSSI and the Tayvallich Juniper and Coast SAC. Both areas are also surrounded by the Loch Sween MPA.

With a predominance of grasslands, Ulva and the Isle of Danna also contain many fragments of Temperate Atlantic Rainforest fragments, an increasingly rare habitat in Scotland, and one of national and international importance. These can be highly biodiverse carbon sinks when in good condition. Restoring, connecting and monitoring these habitats is one of Highlands Rewilding’s main priorities across Tayvallich, particularly through reducing browsing and grazing pressure to encourage natural regeneration.

The coastal and marine areas are also extremely biodiverse and include nationally important marine priority areas including saltmarsh, mixed intertidal sediments and native oysters. They too have considerable worthas potentialfuture natural capital generators of biodiversity and carbon credits.

Ulva and the Isle of Danna form an outstandingly scenic estate and island comprising three properties: Port Nan Gallan, New Ulva Farmhouse and New Danna Farmhouse and Buildings - all currently lived in and/or rented out under various tenancy agreements, and Danna na Cloiche (in ruin) and Ulva Old School House (derelict but wind and watertight) which are exciting potential development opportunities, subject to planning. New Ulva Farmhouse may be sold to tenants before the sale of the whole estate, which would reduce the price of the whole.

The main residence is Port nan Gallan, in a stunning position on the Isle of Danna, looking out over Loch na Cille and towards the Isle of Jura. It also hosts two jetties and a boathouse.

PROPERTIES
Ulva and the Isle of Danna form an outstandingly scenic estate and island comprising three properties: Port nan Gallan, New Ulva Farmhouse and New Danna Farmhouse and Buildings - all currently used regularly or rented out under various tenancy agreements. Danna na Cloiche (in ruin) and Ulva Old School House (derelict but wind and watertight) also present exciting potential development opportunities, subject to planning.

The main residence is Port nan Gallan, in a stunning position on the Isle of Danna, looking out over Loch na Cille and towards the Isle of Jura. It also hosts two jetties and a boathouse.

Port nan Gallan is frequently used as accommodation by staff members and
researchers. It is available to the purchaser with vacant possession.

GRASSLANDS
The underlying complex geology of the site and the unique influence of the oceanic climate combine to produce an exceptionally diverse mosaic of habitat types here, with a high species richness (more than 500 species of vascular plants have been recorded).

This makes this one of the richest areas of conservation importance in the Argyll district, which is recognized with the Ulva, Danna and the McCormaig Isles Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) & the Tayvallich Juniper and Coast Special Area of Conservation (SAC).

Several areas of calcareous grassland occur within the mosaic of habitat types and reflect the distribution of underlying base-rich limestone. In patches of more acidic rock types, heath communities have developed and there are also areas of species rich acid grassland, as well as more improved neutral grassland.

The area also supports internationally-important wintering populations of Greenland barnacle geese and white-fronted geese. The barnacle geese use the improved pastures on the Isle of Danna as their core feeding zone, whilst the white-fronted geese range more widely, and use the saltmarsh communities to a greater extent.

Very rare and internationally important Marsh Fritillary butterflies also thrive here in the damp acidic grasslands, wet and dry heaths, rush pastures and valley-bottom mires where there are plenty of their main foodplant, devil’s-bit scabious.
Carefully managed grazing will be an important part of the management of these open areas going forward.

COASTAL AND MARINE HABITATS
The coastalenvironmentsof Danna and Ulva are extremely diverse and includenationally significantpriority marine featuressuch as saltmarsh, mixed intertidal sediments and native oysters. They have considerable worthas potentialfuture natural capital generators of biodiversity and carbon credits.

Saltmarsh are highly biodiverse supporting migratory birds, specialist plants, indigenous insects, juvenile fish and crustaceans. They act as natural carbon sequestration sinks, storing carbon both in the plants and sediment. A hectare of salt marsh can capture two tonnes of carbon every year and store it for millennia if undisturbed.

Mixed intertidal sediments act as nutrient sinks and biodiversity hotspots. The high nutrient levels and variety of grain sizes making-up the habitat accommodate awide variety of species. The mud component within mixed sediments can contain substantial amounts of carbon.

Native oyster are habitat forming ecosystem engineers with a set of extraordinary environmental services. A singleoyster can filter over 200lt of water a day removing excess nutrients and harmful particulate matter including microplastics. Oyster assemblages form biodiversity hotspots; a single oyster can have over 100 individual species attached to or living on its shell.

The coastal habitats support an extensive list of species, including rich damsel and dragonfly communities, marsh fritillary butterflies Euphydryas aurinia, wintering Curlew Numenius arquata, breeding Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus, Redshanks Tringa totanus, Snipe Gallinago gallinago, and 1% of the British winter population of Whooper swans Cygnus cygnus, to name just a few.

LAND AND MARINE MANAGEMENT
Highlands Rewilding is conducting a year-long baseline (2024-5) of Tayvallich’s natural capital, including that of Ulva and the Isle of Danna, with a focus on consulting and data-gathering. This will create a far more precise account of Tayvallich’s natural capital stocks and uplift potential. The baseline will also inform future land and marine management plans.

Community engagement has been a central part of Highlands Rewilding’s work at Tayvallich, developing a collaborative approach to land management. This has included agreeing a Memorandum of Understanding for land management to benefit local community and nature. This Memorandum forms an embryonic framework to deliver a unique triple-win partnership for community prosperity, nature restoration and ethical profits for shareholders. A local Land Management Board has also been collaboratively designed to be representative of community interest, with devolved operational powers for estate management.

WOODLANDS
Ancient temperate rainforest woodlands, dominated by mature oak trees, also host a variety of other native species like birch, hazel, rowan, and holly, is the predominant woodland type on Ulva and the Isle of Danna. Due to the proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, these woodlands provide ideal conditions for rare oceanic bryophytes, including species at the northern edge of their range.

In addition to the native woodland, there is an area of productive woodland, which has been previously thinned. Plans to remove areas of non-native species are being drawn up, these woodlands will be replaced with native species in line with those found in adjacent native woodlands.

WOODLAND TYPE
(1) The native woodland (44.8ha) is ancient rainforest scattered across the area, with large remnants hugging the coastline.
(2) The productive forest (8.7ha) is predominantly mixed conifer. This was planted in the 1980s and is ready for harvesting.

Tayvallich is a bustling village and bay with a community-owned village shop and hotel with bar and restaurant. There is also a primary school in the village and an active Community Hall (a registered charity) which plays host to a variety of events throughout the year. Access is by means of a single track public road with passing places.

Nearby Lochgilphead provides a variety of retailers, suppliers and facilities.