Exclusive:Magical Scottish island home to two residents changes hands after three decades
New owners said replacing the current custodians of the island will be “a tall order.”
A hidden gem of an island off the west coast of Scotland has changed hands after more than three decades of the same ownership.
The Isle of Rona sits between Skye and Raasay and is home to settlements, roaming deer and a plethora of marine life on its shores, from minke whales to sea eagles.
New owner Fior Rona Ltd, a company set up by hedge fund manager Danny Luhde-Thompson and his wife Cressida Pollock last month, announced its official purchase of the Inner Hebridean island this week.
The sale was “at market rate” during a private exchange, with the owners not wishing to disclose the price.
Rona, blanketed in knee-deep scrub and bogs, characterised by rocky outcrops and with stunning views across the mainland and Inner and Outer Hebridean islands, was sold by Danish couple Dorte and Arne Jensen. The couple bought the island in 1992 for a sum just short of £250,000 and have been regular visitors to the location since.
For more than two decades, the 2,400-acre island has been home to couple Bill Cowie and Lorraine Shill, the only two residents on the island and who have worked as custodians of Rona since moving there in the early 2000s.
The island has remained miraculously underdeveloped, compared to the ever increasingly popular Skye, with just two holiday cottages for guests, a lodge, a bothy and a separate home built for the couple to live in.
A small museum has been made out of a ruin at a settlement site and some abandoned Ministry of Defence buildings sit to the north.
There are no roads and no shops. A recent addition to the island has been a venison larder and butchery built by Mr Cowie, who has carefully managed the Rona herd of red deer since moving to the island in 2002. The produce, ‘Rona Venison’, is supplied to guests and sold locally.
The sale of the island ties in with the the couple’s retirement.
Speaking after the announcement, Mr Cowie, 69, said the mood still feels “business as usual” until the pair officially move from Rona in the autumn.
“When we finally set sail out the harbour, that’s going to be when we feel it after being here all these years,” he said.
“It’s not just been a job living and working here. It’s been part of our life for the last 23 years.
“But things move on and it’s time for us to move on. We have reached a stage where age is against us and we can’t do more of what it takes to run a place like Rona.
“We will miss the views.”
On the future of the island, spokesperson for Fior Rona Ltd Adam Crookshank said: “The island of Rona has been purchased by Fior Rona Ltd who will look to carry on the excellent work of the previous owners and custodians and will try to ensure that the natural heritage, including the island itself and the marine environment that surrounds it, continues to thrive under their custodianship.
“This will include carrying out baseline surveys to understand the current state of biodiversity and allow for the development of a considered plan to further protect and restore the natural habitats, and to measure progress over time.”
The island currently supports low-impact tourism with two holiday lets and attracts hundreds of visiting sailing boats to the harbours throughout the year, of which there are two on the island.
Mr Crookshank said the new owners will continue to welcome visitors to Rona and look forward to engaging with local businesses and stakeholders into the future.
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