Pair of wind-powered Orkney islands for sale for £300,000: live in self-sufficient isolation in six-bedroom bungalow with its own electricity generator

The buyer of the two islands known as the Holms of Stromness in Orkney will need to be up for rowing to shops from their six-bedroom hideaway - unless the tide is low...
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Jess Denham18 January 2017

If you crave seclusion and self-sufficiency, how about two Scottish islands, complete with a six-bedroom bungalow, electricity generating station and its own flagpole?

The Holms of Stromness are for sale at £300,000, less than half the cost of an average London house, and all the electricity is generated by a wind turbine. The tidal islands form part of the harbour of Stromness in Orkney, off the northeastern coast of Scotland.

The land totals 12.5 acres at high tide, doubling to 23 acres at the lowest tide, when it is possible to reach the mainland by a causeway. Both the Inner and Outer Holms have stone jetties, so you can row to the shops whatever the tide is doing.

There are stone jetties on both islands so you're always in easy reach of the shops

The bungalow is on Inner Holm, and has four bedrooms, with two more in a self-contained annexe. The living and dining area has polished wooden floors and a Claygate brick fireplace, with an oil-fired Rayburn range in the kitchen.

There is a multi-fuel stove in the annexe, which is connected to the main house by a large conservatory, perfect for reading in the summer.

The interior is in need of modernisation, with the bathroom and shower room requiring attention. There are double-glazed windows and doors throughout, with many opening onto the garden with views looking out across Stromness, the island of Hoy and Scapa Flow.

The living and dining area has polished wooden floors and a Claygate brick fireplace

A lawn surrounds the house and there is also a walled garden and a large stone outhouse on the north-east side of the island. Outer Holm is the larger of the islands and sits due south of Inner Holm, to which it is connected by a causeway. Both Holms can be let out to farmers for grazing in the summer.

The large, sunny conservatory has lovely views across the extensive grounds

The islands are for sale because the younger members of the owner’s family are no longer in Orkney to make full use of it. A firm of solicitors is marketing the property because it is common in Scotland for solicitors to offer an inhouse estate agency service.

Kirkwall, the capital of Orkney, is just 15 miles away, from where BA flights to Heathrow take around three and a half hours, including a change in mainland Scotland.

The Holms of Stromness in Orkney are for sale through Lows Solicitors for offers in excess of £300,000