'Haunted' Scottish castle for sale with £1.5million slashed off price
Carbisdale Castle near Ardgay in Sutherland is now being offered at £3.5million. It is on sale amid an ongoing dispute between the owner and the local council.
The property is being marketed by Strutt & Parker as "one of the Highlands' most iconic castles, occupying the most prominent position of any building in Scotland". It follows owner Samantha Kane's decision to pull the plug on a proposed transfer of the castle to a community interest company.
Kane, a London barrister, had planned to hand over the property. However, she has since reversed the decision as a result of alleged discrimination.
She commented: "I have now halted that and decided to put the castle back on the market as a direct result of the discrimination I have suffered. Obviously the big loser is the community but the hatred and discrimination I have endured is too much."
Ms Kane, 65, purchased the castle in 2022 for £1.2million. She has since undertaken "vast" restoration work to key parts of the property.
According to selling agents, improvements have been made "to suit 21st century living and the potential development of a spa and swimming pool".
A major factor in the listing of the castle has been an ongoing dispute within Ardgay and District Community Council (A&DCC). The conflict is said to have escalated in recent weeks.
The group, of which Kane is a member, has called an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to dissolve the council. It cited concerns about the castle owner's conduct at meetings.
Chair Les Waugh accused Kane of behaving "like a football hooligan", with the community council writing in a statement: 'Following six months of very difficult meeting and very difficult operating conditions in between meetings, the chair and the vice chair took the view that the intimidation of members of the public at the meeting on April 17 made the continuation of A&DCC, in its current form, untenable."
Ms Kane has strongly denied the allegations, stating: "Allegations about my alleged behaviour are entirely untrue—totally false. If anything it is the other way around and I have evidence to support that. I am considering claiming damages from the community council or individual members for the harm they have caused me."
One described as "Britain's poshest youth hostel", the 19-bedroom Carbisdale Castle is known for the ghost dressed in white named Betty that is set to haunt its 29-acre grounds. People who have stayed in the hostel have even named one of its top-floor bedrooms the 'spook room'.
Built in the early 1900s, Carbisdale became known as the Castle of Spite due to its original resident's bitter dispute with her husband's family. Mary Caroline, Duchess of Sutherland, was the second wife of George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 3rd Duke of Sutherland.
However, the marriage was not approved by the Duke's family. Following his death, the Duchess' inheritance was contested by her stepson. acEventually, a financial settlement was reached and the family agreed to build the Duchess a new castle. However, it was required that the castle be constructed outside the Sutherland Estate boundary.
In response, the Duchess built her home on the most prominent hillside site just outside the estate. The new property overlooked her former family's land and railway line, and it is widely believed the she located the castle to spite her husband's family and the settlement agreement.
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