Graveland, Yell, Shetland, ZE2 9BL

Available as a whole or in two lots

Lot 1 –offers Over £180,000

Lot 2 –offers Over £200,000

Whole - Offers Over £380,000

An extensive holding set amidst some of the country’s most breath-taking coastal scenery.

Mid Yell 3.7 miles, Ulsta Ferry Terminal 10 miles, Lerwick 37 miles, Sumburgh Airport 58 miles

(all distances are approximate)

- Approximately 1,099.41 Acres (444.92 Ha) of hill grazings

- Three ruinous crofts which might lend themselves to reinstatement or development/diversification, subject to securing the requisite planning permission

- Ownership of the foreshore along with sporting rights, including some well-regarded fishing across four hill lochs.

- Secluded yet stunning location

- Opportunity to integrate into the local community

- Access to some of Scotland’s most remote coastline from which to enjoy the abundant and diverse wildlife it supports

- Scope to achieve Natural Capital & Sustainable Investment gains via a potential carbon project.

Situation and Location

The Island of Yell is covered in peaty moorland, interspersed with coastal crofting communities, the largest being Mid Yell which is the main hub on the island. The land is predominantly used for sheep grazing although surprisingly there has been success to the north of the isle with strawberries. Around the coast the powerful tidal currents offer an ideal natural environment for rearing some of the best salmon in Scotland. In addition, the pure waters also make this an ideal spot for cultivating mussels, with some 81% of Scotland’s mussels produced around the Shetland Isles.

Measuring around nineteen miles long by eight miles wide, the island of Yell has a population of approximately 950 and has been inhabited since Neolithic times with around twelve known historic ‘broch’ sites. The second largest of the Shetland ‘north isles’, Yell sits between mainland Shetland and the neighbouring island of Unst separated by the Yell Sound and is connected to the mainland by a regular ro-ro (roll on/roll off) ferry service. The three-mile-wide crossing typically takes twenty minutes and runs throughout the day from Toft, approximately 27 miles north of Lerwick to Ulsta in the south of Yell, approximately ten miles from Graveland.

The island has a breadth of services beyond what one might expect. The village of Mid Yell, which is approximately four miles from Graveland, is the main population centre on the island and provides a medical centre, dental surgery, general store, leisure centre with indoor heated pool, squash court and gym, as well as a Junior Highschool with a current roll of 106, providing education from nursery to fourth year secondary. An EV charging point is available at the school with a further station at Ulsta Ferry Terminal. An additional general store, petrol station and the local post office can be found at Aywick, approximately a ten-minute drive south of the village.

Graveland is a truly outstanding area from which to appreciate the surrounding land and seascape, or for simply enjoying the diverse local wildlife which frequent the area. Numerous nationally important nature reserves, including the RSPB's Lumbister, the Yell Sound islands, and the island of Hascosay, may be found nearby. The area is home to an abundance of wildlife, especially in the summer months when otters may be seen digging their burrows into the low-lying peaty shorelines or playing in the crystal-clear waters beyond. There are also many nesting birds in the area, including Whimbrel, Red-throated Divers, Dunlin, and Golden Plover. Porpoises, dolphins and even orca whales may be spotted when walking along one of the many beaches or coastal trails and if you're lucky, you might even catch a glimpse of the aurora borealis of an evening.

LOT 1

Lot 1 extents to approximately 1,002.75 Acres (405.80 Ha) and includes four lochans with part of the Loch of Graveland acting as a boundary between Lot 1 and 2 and includes the foreshore in addition to the mineral and sporting rights. According to the James Hutton Institute’s land classification for agriculture system, approximately 934.33 Acres (378 Ha) is designated as Grade 6 with the rest being Grade 5.3, both of which are fairly similar and are widely regarded as capable rough grazings and often have a high value in terms of storing carbon.

The land rises to its highest point in the north at Green Hill reaching 111m above sea level with views to the dramatic rock stacks beyond. The natural topography provides a varied habitat including grassland, heathland and freshwater lochans.

Lot 1 is part of the Otterswick & Graveland Special Protection Area (SPA), which includes two areas of open moorland with pools and lochans. This area has also been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The inland areas are dominated by blanket bog, with stretches of dry heather moorland and a band of maritime grassland extending mainly along the peninsula's coastal stretches.

Graveland encompasses a number of small lochs including Houlis Water, Loch of Graveland, Virdi Water and Cro Waters. These lochs, along with numerous peatland pools, support a nationally valuable breeding population of red-throated diver (Gavia stellata), accounting for approximately 1% of the British breeding population.

Lot 1 might lend itself to the approval of a peat and restoration project, with the potential for generating certified carbon credits. In addition, there may be scope for a Natural Capital Bio-diversity Scheme. however, any such schemes would be subject to the proposed purchasers carrying out their own due diligence and satisfying themselves.

LOT 2

Extending in total to approximately 96.66 Acres (39.12 Ha), with roughly 87.14 Acres (35.26 Ha) in and around the Haa of Graveland running up to Daleskeeo designated as Grade 5.3 with the rest being Grade 6.2. This includes part of the Loch of Graveland as well as the foreshore, mineral and sporting rights.

The ruinous crofts at Graveland are thought to have development potential and could serve as the foundation for new crofts or houses, subject to obtaining the necessary planning permission. They might equally be the basis for a new leisure venture combining a rarely available degree of solitude with the stunning natural environment and any natural capital or biodiversity net gain conservation project that a purchaser might choose to advance.

VIEWING

Strictly by prior agreement with the selling agents who should be contacted in advance to advise on access arrangements.

For the personal safety of interested parties, please be aware of potential hazards at the property as the buildings and land may be in temporary use for livestock handling. Due to the remote location care should be taken and appropriate steps made to alert others to your whereabouts. Access to the site is taken over a combination of metalled roads, 4WD tracks and by foot. Prospective purchasers/those viewing do so at their own risk and must make their own arrangements in respect of any equipment, devices or transport required.

Please contact our agency team for more information scotlandagency@bidwells.co.uk

FINANCIAL GUARANTEE/ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING REGULATIONS

Any offer by prospective purchaser(s), regardless of where they are ordinarily resident and regardless of whether on a cash or subject to loan finance basis, must be accompanied by a financial reference from a bank/funding source that is acceptable to the sellers. Prospective purchasers will also be required to produce identification sufficient to satisfy anti-money laundering regulations and checks against the intended purchaser or nominee together with other documentation that may be required, from time to time, in order to support any conditional offers submitted to the seller. Bidwells LLP accepts no liability of any type arising from your delay or other lack of co-operation in this regard. Failure to provide the requisite AML documentation with offers may result in them not being considered at the closing date or being superseded by an offer which is. Settlement may also be delayed or aborted due to non-compliance with requests for information or failure to deliver adequate information within the requisite timeframes. We may hold your name on our database unless you instruct us otherwise.

TENURE

Udal (Absolute Ownership Interest – Freehold)

Because of the implications of udal law, special considerations apply to the mapping of coastal titles in Orkney and Shetland. The legal assumption is that a udal title adjoining the coast will include the foreshore. The Crown has no prior right to the foreshore under udal law.