Woodland home to ancient battlefield for sale for £10m

Panmure Woodlands, near Carnoustie, Angus, has gone on sale for offers over £2.7m.

The property has links to Scottish actor and presenter Alan Cumming, who grew up in Carnoustie and whose father was the head forester at Panmure Estate, of which the woodlands are part.

The site is one of six prime forestry and woodland properties that have gone up for sale in recent weeks and worth a combined total of £9.8m. The selling agent, Goldcrest Land & Forestry Group, said the sales comes amid a noticeable increase in buyer interest in forestry investment after a quiet few months.

Scotland’s forests are sought after for timber production, carbon offsetting and green investments, and private conservation or rewilding projects.

The 479-acre Panmure woodland is home to a 15-metre Category A listed column, a historic folly, a burial mound, a battle site, a listed single arch bridge, a listed gazebo folly and a post-medieval sawmill site with remnant water channels indicating the historic diversion of water to power sawmilling machinery.

The woodlands formed part of the Panmure Estate dating back to the 13th Century when it was in the ownership of the Maule family. Panmure House, a grand mansion, was at the centre of the estate and became the seat of the Earls of Panmure.

The Maule family, however, suffered political setbacks after supporting the Jacobite Rising of 1715 which led to the confiscation of Panmure and other family estates. During the Second World War the house was requisitioned by the military and subsequently fell into disrepair and was demolished in 1955. The estate was broken up in the early 2000s and the woods are now in separate ownership.

Jon Lambert, partner at Goldcrest, said: “Panmure is an interesting high-quality forest while its archaeological and architectural features combined with amenity assets make it an attractive proposition and an excellent investment opportunity.”

Other forests up for sale by the same company include West Glensherraig, a 1300-acre Arran estate combining peatland, heather and native woodland and home to a charming bothy. The estate is split into two lots and, combined, are on the market for offers over £950,000.

Mr Lambert added: “It is heartening to see so much good quality and varied forestry and woodland property becoming available and it is an encouraging indicator of increasing market confidence this summer.

“We have seen a considerable uplift in enquiries for properties we have brought to the market in the last few weeks. It is positive to see a rising interest in forestry investment opportunities after a subdued few months.

“Demand is largely from individual investors who have perhaps delayed decisions in the past year but are beginning to act now. Forestry is a specialist and bespoke market but an attractive property asset class to informed investors.”