The Isle of Skye, famed for its rugged beauty and deep-rooted Highland history, is at the center of a heated debate as one of its largest estates changes hands. The South Sleat Estate, sprawling across 20,000 acres on the island’s southern peninsula, is on the market for offers over £6.75 million. At the heart of the sale is Armadale Castle—a ruined but iconic structure, its gardens, and visitor facilities—long considered the spiritual home of Clan Donald and a focal point for both local identity and tourism.
The estate’s owner, the Clan Donald Lands Trust (CDLT), announced in March 2025 that it faced mounting financial challenges and had made the “heartbreaking” decision to sell. According to BBC News, the Trust’s intention is to redirect its focus towards supporting clan and indigenous Highland heritage projects through grants, rather than direct stewardship of the land. The decision startled many in Sleat, the community surrounding the estate, and triggered a wave of criticism over the lack of consultation and transparency in the process.
For the residents of Sleat, the sale represents more than just a change in ownership. The estate is not only a patchwork of crofting land and farmland—much of it tenanted—but also a historic game-shooting estate and a vital economic driver. Many locals see Armadale Castle as a symbol of their heritage, and the gardens and museum as invaluable community assets. Yet, as the closing date for bids approached on August 28, 2025, it became clear that the community would not be able to mount a viable bid to keep the estate in local hands.
The Sleat Community Trust, which had initially formed a working group to explore a community buyout after a public meeting in April, ultimately withdrew its interest just three days before the deadline. The reasons were stark: the Trust estimated that, beyond the asking price of £2.76 million for seven lots including the castle and gardens, a further £4-6 million would be needed to bring the buildings up to safe and usable standards. This, they concluded, exposed the Trust to “unacceptable financial risk.”
Compounding the challenge, the Trust claimed it had waited five weeks to receive detailed sales information, leaving an impossibly compressed timeline for due diligence. "We received incomplete financial details and no structural surveys of the commercial buildings," the Trust stated, as reported in The Scotsman. "With the sale closing on 28 August, this created a compressed timeline, making proper due diligence impossible." The lack of consultation and community engagement, they said, was deeply frustrating and a point of contention for both the Trust and the wider community council.
Dr Andy Williamson, chair of Sleat Community Council, voiced the community’s exasperation: “It’s been a shambles. The community has largely been blocked out. There has been very little communication and we don’t know what will happen next.” His words echoed the broader sentiment that the process had left residents in the dark and uncertain about the future of their local landmarks.
Community Land Scotland, an organization supporting community land ownership, also weighed in. Dr Josh Doble, their Policy and Advocacy lead, said, “We are disappointed but perhaps not surprised to hear that Sleat Community Trust (SCT) are not pursuing the purchase of Armadale Castle and Gardens. Throughout the opaque process of Clan Donald Land Trust (CDLT) bringing the Castle and wider estate to market they have snubbed the community and not sought to meaningfully engage about the sale or the future of the land, frustrating the possibility of a community purchase.”
Despite the local disappointment, the sale has attracted significant attention from potential buyers. Strutt & Parker, the estate agents handling the sale, confirmed to BBC News that there had been “significant interest from a diverse pool of prospective buyers.” They emphasized that “all requests for information were processed in a consistent and timely manner and were fulfilled with the available and appropriate information that was necessary to support any due diligence process.” Among the interested parties is Michigan-based James Kurth and his family, who have proposed a model that would allow islanders the chance to become shareholders and participate in decisions about land management, should their bid be successful.
For CDLT, the sale is seen as a necessary step to secure the charity’s future and safeguard the heritage of Armadale. In a statement following the conclusion of an inquiry by Scotland’s charity regulator, OSCR, the Trust’s CEO, Alex Stoddart, said: “The Trustees of the Clan Donald Lands Trust welcome OSCR’s conclusion, which confirms they acted lawfully, prudently, and with proper advice in deciding to market the estate. OSCR has closed its inquiry with no grounds for intervention, highlighting the necessity of these steps to safeguard the charity’s future for generations to come.”
OSCR’s investigation, which began in April after complaints from groups like the ‘Save Armadale’ campaign, found that the trustees had acted within their legal powers and taken appropriate legal and financial advice before putting the estate up for sale. As reported by STV News, OSCR stated: “Having considered the information provided, OSCR has established no grounds to intervene in the decision of the charity trustees to sell its landholdings, including the Sleat Estate and Armadale property assets. The charity’s trustees have acted within their powers and taken legal and financial advice prior to placing the charity’s landholdings up for sale.”
Yet, the outcome has done little to placate those who feel the process was mishandled. Clan members, many of whom see Armadale as the ancestral seat and believe the property is held in perpetuity for the clan, have also voiced their distress. High Chief Lord Godfrey Macdonald, the 34th chief of Clan Donald, previously told The Scotsman he was “devastated” at the loss of the centre, describing it as the “Crown Jewels” of Armadale. The castle, gardens, and the Clan Donald Centre museum and archive are all part of the sale, which has fueled a sense of loss and uncertainty about how the clan’s legacy will be preserved.
Despite the controversy, the CDLT board remains optimistic that a well-funded buyer will emerge—one who will invest in the estate, create new jobs, and work constructively with local crofting representatives and the broader community. In early August, the board commented: “There has been considerable interest in both estates, and a number of serious parties are now well advanced in their due diligence. The Trustees remain hopeful that offers will be forthcoming which enable Armadale to continue as a whole. Among the many ideas and opportunities discussed, we are encouraged by the enthusiasm of numerous interested parties to preserve the castle and gardens for future generations.”
For the people of Sleat and the wider Isle of Skye, the sale of the South Sleat Estate and Armadale Castle marks a turning point—one that will shape the local economy, heritage, and community identity for years to come. As the closing date passes and bids are weighed, the hope lingers that new ownership will bring not only investment but a renewed spirit of engagement with those who call Skye home.
