What it is: A traditional stone cottage that was originally the centre of a croft. It requires complete renovation. The property stands in nearly an acre-and-a-half of land which has south-facing views over a Highland landscape. There is a pathway that leads from the site down to the River Brora. Loch Brora is two miles away; the town of Brora is a mile-and-a-half. For sale separately — at offers over £55,000 — is an adjoining plot of nearly an acre, with planning permission to build a new house. The second plot has an open outlook over the river.
The ground floor of the cottage comprises one large room. The upstairs area used to have a stairway and two bedrooms.
There are outbuildings joined to the property at both ends, and the house is connected to mains water as it has its own sewerage. Mains electricity is nearby.
The problems: The division of this plot is clearly not going to suit some buyers. They must either buy both sites or accept that there will be another cottage relatively close by. The former option is an expensive one, as planning permission has already been granted on the riverside site. It will be necessary to form a new access road to the cottage, which will add to the cost of conversion. Cattle are kept on the surrounding land, so if you wanted to keep dogs, a secure fence around the property would be necessary.
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The advantages: The cottage is not only in reasonable condition, it actually looks rather distinguished compared with many utilitarian dwellings in rural Scotland. The fact that the roof is mainly intact will make the job of modernising the house significantly cheaper. The unpolluted emptiness of Sutherland is enormously attractive, but this spot has the advantage of being only a short walk from Brora and fewer than 20 miles from Dornoch. Brora also has a railway station and is under 50 miles from Wick airport. Nicely converted, a cottage of this kind could sell for up to £150,000.
MacKenzie & Cormack, 01862 892 046