A wish has been fulfilled lately with a new page on Islayinfo.com about the Estates on Islay. During all my visits on Islay and other parts of Scotland, I heard about estates and the role they play in the daily life of many Ilich and for people in other parts of Scotland. Estates have always been a somewhat strange thing for me and most likely for others from the continent as well, because it's hard to imagine that private people can own such vast amounts of land. An example of this vast land ownership is the Duke of Buccleuch who owns 270,000 acres of land in Scotland. The Scottish government owns 174,000 acres!

The land ownership on Islay is not much different from other parts of Scotland. Islay has five estates/landowners from which Islay Estate and Dunlossit Estate are the largest. The other estates are Laggan, Foreland and Ardtalla Estate. The estates on Islay play an important role, both as employer of many people and to act as land manager to control wildlife and provide land for farms and crofts. The new page explains in detail how the estates started in the first place, from the time all of the land on Islay was in the hands of the Campbells of Cawdor back in 1614 to modern day where estates are run as commercial businesses providing leisure activities such as stalking, shooting and fishing.

Susan Campbell helped me out with this page and did most of the research and writing, for which I'm very grateful. I also have to thank Fiona MacGregor and Donald James MacPhee (DJ) of Dunlossit Estate who gave me permission to use a couple of really stunning images. Time for you to have a look at the new page called Estates on Islay. Enjoy!

Tag: estates dunlossit islay estate laggan ardtalla foreland