Nahe Loch Tay is a crystal clear lake in the Scottish Highlands, an abandoned small village. It is called the Old Village of Raul. It has been abandoned for nearly a hundred years. The last resident moved out in 1926. This small settlement slowly disappeared in the 19th century. But it has never been completely calm. According to local legend, the old village has long been haunted.
The land in the village is now being sold. Real estate agency Goldcrest sold it for 125,000 pounds (approximately 145,000 euros). For a village with only ruins and moss-covered stones piled between the grass and the small forest by the lake, this is a very proud price. The property occupies 1.3 hectares-approximately 130 x 100 meters. There is actually only a magnificent view of hiking trails, stone monuments and mountain lakes.
The run-down village evokes vivid fantasy
It is difficult to say what value or return buyers expect from the secluded property. The land and forests of Scotland are certainly dreams of investors, but they must be available. It’s not safe here. The real estate agency only mentioned one “potential planning option”-it is unclear whether the city government actually has a building permit to build a new house on Lonely Lake. At least you can catch trout, and there is a small beach.
Presumably, this proposal also originated from a fantasy revolving around a “ghost village”-Goldcrest talked about “romantic connections.” That’s why this story even appeared on American TV stations like CNBC. It is said that the old village has been “cursed”. A female lawyer (called “Baintighearn Labhuir” in Gaelic) is said to have worked there as a fortune teller in the 17th century. According to legend, the daughter of Sir James Campbell, a Scottish nobleman, correctly predicted that the church would not be able to set the foundation stone (it is said that the storm threw it into the lake on the first night), and the entire church crashed together a few decades later. This was what the lady expected. In 1870, a farmer died after cutting down the ash tree she planted and enshrined. This haunted legend is perfect. A ruin in the village is said to be the lady’s house.
Scottish land is very popular with investors-albeit on a large scale. For example, the well-known Danish textile entrepreneur and self-made billionaire Anders Povlsens bought 13 properties covering more than 90,000 hectares in the highlands and hoped to reforest. He has become the largest landlord in Scotland. The British media has called him the “King of Scotland”. Other Scandinavians also love the highlands and have acquired larger estates there, such as H&M’s main shareholder Stefan Persson, Lego heir Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, and Tetra Pak’s granddaughters Sigrid and Lisbet Rausing. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum from Dubai also bought tens of thousands of hectares of land in the highlands.
