The privately owned island of Wiay off Benbecula is up for sale with a price tag
of around £500,000.
The uninhabited island of 970 acres lies half a mile off the east side of Benbecula
and is accessible by boat from Petersport.
It is being sold by the Chettle family of Dorchester. The only house on the island,
nestled in low lying pass between two hills, is roofless and in ruins. Plans to renovate
it fell by the wayside. However, the owners have applied to renew planning permission
to convert the property into an one-bedroomed bothy or holiday home for letting to
tourists. There is no running water and no electricity.
Small fresh water lochs host brown trout. Mink and otters live on the island and
shooting rights for red deer, woodcock and snipe are leased out . There are three
eagle nesting sites on the island. At 335 feet, the highest hill is Beinn a’ Tuath.
The owners ceased letting the island be used for crofters’ grazings and the moorland
has returned to its natural, wild, state. In the past the island supported about
200 sheep with good grazing on the lower slopes. The island was farmed until 2003
when the owners bought out the tenant.
Six people lived on Wiay in 1861 but it has has been deserted since 1942. Bonnie
Prince Charlie is said to have hidden in the Prince’s Cave on Wiay for a few days
as a fugitive after the Battle of Culloden in 1746.
The cave, known as Prince Charlie’s Rest, is found to the east of the island at the
foot of Beinn a Tuath and has clear views over the Minch and to Skye.
According to the selling agents Bell Ingram, the Prince would have felt reasonably
secure as he watched British Navy warships as they patrolled up and down, combing
the seas for him.
Prince Charlie’s cave island for sale 7/7/13