TV presenter Kirsty Young and her multi-millionaire husband Nick Jones are selling their Scottish island, Inchconnachan, just months after finally securing planning permission to build a dream home there. The couple, who purchased the island for £2 million in 2020, have decided to part with it following Mr Jones's diagnosis with prostate cancer, for which he was successfully treated.
A change in priorities
Mr Jones, the founder of the Soho House chain of private members' clubs, said: 'My priorities have changed. When you go through what I went through, you're looking for a slightly smaller life, rather than a bigger life.' The couple, based in the Cotswolds, are now re-imagining their life plans after the health scare.
Ms Young, 57, who was born in East Kilbride but raised in Stirling, has also faced health issues. She stepped back from presenting BBC Radio 4's 'Desert Island Discs' in 2018 after developing fibromyalgia, a chronic pain condition. She returned to cover the Queen's Platinum Jubilee in 2022, the Queen's state funeral later that year, and King Charles's Coronation in 2023.
The island and its wallabies
Inchconnachan Island, located in Loch Lomond, is home to a rare colony of red-necked wallabies, introduced in the 1940s by Fiona Bryde Gore, Lady Arran Colquhoun. The wallabies, native to Australia and New Guinea, have survived on oak, holly, and birch trees. Their presence sparked a campaign to protect them, with over 100,000 people signing a petition against the couple's planning application.
The planning permission, granted by the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority, includes a two-storey lodge with three bedrooms, a boathouse, and inter-connecting boardwalks. The ruins of a 1920s colonial-style bungalow will be demolished, and a natural wet woodland created. The authority noted a 'small loss of habitat' but also biodiversity benefits from naturalisation.
The couple's plans include employing a full-time warden for a conservation recovery scheme, with wallabies protected during development. Sotheby's, handling the sale, is seeking offers of £3 million for the island as it is, or £10 million with the lodge built.
Attractions and accessibility
Sotheby's brochure highlights the island's natural beauty: 'Designated an Area of Special Scientific Interest and Special Area of Conservation, the island is richly wooded with ancient Scots pine, oak, and birch, and serves as a haven for sea eagles and nesting ospreys. Elevated viewpoints and the sweeping shoreline offer uninterrupted views towards Ben Lomond.' Despite its seclusion, Glasgow International Airport is just 30 minutes away, with connections to London, Europe, and transatlantic destinations.
