Isle of Skye: Clan charity under investigation over sale of prized 210-year-old castle and ancestral land

OSCR, the Scottish Charity Regulator, confirmed it was examining the finances and decision making at Clan Donald Lands Trust [CDLT], which represents members of the largest clan in the world.

In March, trustees of the charity made the sudden announcement the body was putting Armadale Castle and gardens, the Clan Donald Centre museum and around 20,000 acres of the Sleat Peninsula on the market given financial pressures.

READ MORE: Clan moves to stop sale of Skye castle amid claims ‘it is ours’

The move sparked a backlash from clan members, whose donations helped secure the castle and land more than 50 years ago, with claims the assets belonged to them.

A statement from OSCR said it had received a number of concerns from the public about the Clan Donald Lands Trust.

The statement added: “We are now engaging with the charity trustees to establish the facts of this case and we have sought extensive information and explanation from them. We are specifically looking to understand the current financial position of the charity and the circumstances that led to the decision to put significant charitable assets up for sale.

“We will not reach a position to decide whether further regulatory action is necessary until we are satisfied that we have established the facts of the case.”

Armadale Castle, which is largely derelict, is being sold by Strutt & Parker, along with six wooden cottages and woodland. The sale also includes the building that houses the Clan Donald Centre museum and a number of cottages for a combined price of £2.76 million.

In addition, just over 19,000 acres of the Sleat Peninsula are being sold for offers over £6.75m.

Campaigners against the sale have now called for OSCR to pause the sale of the charity’s assets as the closing date for bids of August 28 approaches.

READ MORE: ‘Betrayal, tragedy, sadness’ - a clan stunned over castle sale

Around 4,000 clan members are believed to have donated to the trust over the past 50 years after answering a call from Lord Godfrey Macdonald, the current clan chief, who was forced to sell off a large part of the Macdonald estates to pay for death duties and inherited debt following the death of his father in 1970.

Around £200,000 was raised - roughly £2.5m at today’s values - to secure Armadale Castle, the ancestral seat of the Macdonalds of Sleat, and a large part of the Sleat Peninsula, with the assets to be held in perpetuity for all clansmen.

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In an earlier statement, the trust said it would “reform” its operations to “focus on our core purpose of protecting and promoting clan and indigenous Highland heritage”.

The trust said Armadale Castle was no longer commercially viable, with the number of clan members visiting “too low” to justify the annual losses or the major investment required.

The archive and library is due to be retained to create a “world-class immersive, interactive digital platform” to display its collection. The charity is said to have run into difficulty after a major funding source in the United States dried up.

The trustees of CDLT are chairman Ranald Macdonald Younger of Clanranald (chair of trustees), who runs the Boisdale restaurants in London, Sir Ian Macdonald of Sleat, and Major Bruce Macdonald of South Carolina and Diane Carey-Schmitz of Los Angeles.

CDLT has been contacted for comment.