Bargains for hunters

marketing of large country houses plummet to the ground like a grouse

that has taken both barrels full in the chest, but the pleasant weather

has brought a welcome extension to the greenwelly selling season.As a

result, some houses are being re-packaged or having their prices dropped

to generate interest.

Back in October, Savills was confident of finding a buyer for

Edinample, a country estate near Lochearnhead in Perthsire. The agency's

beaters had fanned out across the high ground of the estate market and

sent more than 400 brochures flying towards inquirers -- then bagged

more than 30 viewers.

The agent expected to generate a premium over the #580,000 asking

price for the estate, but at the last moment the prize escaped and the

property remained unsold.

In a bid to generate new interest, Savills has repackaged the estate

and reduced the price of Lot One by #125,000, after taking some 70 acres

out of sale. Selling agent Jamie MacNab is now looking for what he calls

''a very realistic'' offers over #275,000 for the main property.

It now comprises Edinample House with its three reception rooms, four

bedrooms, three bathrooms; Edinample Yard House with two reception

rooms, two bedrooms and bathroom; a former steading with bothy,

garaging, looseboxes, barns and lofts; 14 acres of grazing and rough

woodland; a small island and a jetty and moorings -- all in a pleasant

lochside setting on Loch Earn.

''The market has been very fickle this year and estate buyers proved

cautious,'' says Jamie MacNab. ''Despite negotiating with various

interested parties we were unable to conclude a bargain on the main part

of the estate, so we are now going back to the market with a package

which we believe will appeal to many more buyers, at an affordable

price.''

Meanwhile, the Edinburgh office of estate agents Knight Frank & Rutley

is pushing on with the marketing effort for Tigh-Bhaan, a delightful

single-storey house in a magnificent position in Appin, overlooking some

of the Inner Hebrides.

Tigh-Bhaan has tremendous views over Loch Linnhe, the Lynn of Lorn,

and Castle Stalker with the islands of Lismore and Mull beyond. The

property was originally built around the turn of the century and was at

one time the Appin Station Hotel. Following a fire in about 1950, the

house was rebuilt by an architect who designed it to take advantage of

the views.

The accommodation comprises two reception rooms, three bedrooms, two

bathrooms and a kitchen. There are extensive gardens, with azaleas and

rhododendrons providing colour and shelter.

Further grounds providing providing woodland walks, a burn and a

grazing hill extend to about 23 acres. There are a number of

outbuildings including workshops, garaging and a greenhouse and included

within the sale is a separate three-bedroom bungalow.

Diarmid Mackenzie Smith from the selling agents Knight Frank & Rutley

says: ''The house has a most magnificent outlook and together with its

23 acres of ground and its bungalow offers the type of property many

people are looking for in this part of the country.''

Offers over #210,000 are being sought for Tigh-Bhaan.

Moray-based land agents and auctioneers Langley-Taylor have sold

Eilean Aigas, an unusual small estate set on a river island.

The new owner is K C Chai and his family from Hong Kong, who intend

spending a great deal of time on the property, which was marketed

jointly with Savills as a ''romantic island kingdom'. The purchase

incorporates the main house together with wooded grounds of some 60

acres linked to the mainland by a private bridge.

The property itself has 12 bedrooms and six bathrooms, and five

reception rooms.

The literary traditions of Eilean Aigas go back some 150 years, and in

modern times Lady Antonia Fraser Pinter built a little hut near the

southern point of the island where she wrote several of her books,

including much of her biography of Cromwell.

The agents say that the selling price achieved was ''a little

beneath'' the original asking price of #600,000.