Fancy living on an island? No electricity, no gas, but you do get this view
An island to rent at a snip which looks too good to be true could be the dream escape for a wannabe Robinson Crusoe – with one small hitch – there’s no gas or electricity supply.
An entire island with a derelict farmhouse is in desperate need of restoration and the owner will rent it out for just £500 a month to anyone up to the task.
The 18-acre island of Ynys Giftan in Snowdonia National Park, Wales, might be a project and a half but with tranquillity and stunning views it would be hard to find more bang for your buck.
Thomas Hanmer, of Strutt & Parker, said: “This is a blank canvas offering. Already we have had numerous interested parties putting forward proposals to enhance the island’s potential for tourism. The estate owner is keen to maximise this strength and maintain and enhance the wider public’s affection for the island and north Wales.
“The flexibility of use being offered and the opportunity to put forward a rental offer based on a scheme of the applicant’s choosing to reflect their investment is a real once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. There are only 43 unbridged tidal islands in Britain, and rarely do they become available to the public.”
Ynys Giftan in the Dwyryd Estuary near Portmeirion offers not only a beautiful escape to the country but perhaps the ultimate DIY project. The island which translates as Anne’s Gift Island was handed over to 7th Baron Harlech’s ancestors by Queen Anne early in the 18th century.
The island is approximately three miles from Harlech and 10 miles from the town of Porthmadog. It is accessible by boat at high tide and at low tide by foot, tractor or other suitable vehicle for travelling across the estuary.
The island is available on a 20-year improving lease meaning the tenant must renovate the farmhouse in exchange for an annual ground rent to reflect the level of investment required.
The tenant would be responsible for dealing with planning and building regulations on a lease which would be on full repairing and insuring terms. The two-floor farmhouse abandoned since 2007 is in a dangerous state of disrepair is on the east side of the island which had been run as a farm.
Estate agents Strutt and Parker suggest the tenant could transform the derelict building into their personal home or for commercial use. Built with one large bedroom, two bathrooms, receptions rooms, and a kitchen the farmhouse has no electricity and there is a water pipe that might need fixing!
