THEY are properties at the very top end of the market, the ultimate 'des res' whose residents can expect to live in luxury with the option of gazing out on some of the country's most spectacular views.

With house prices growing at almost three times the annual rate of England, getting on the property ladder has never been more difficult and budgets are being stretched as never before.

But when money is no object, Scotland is becoming an ever-more attractive market for househunters looking for the most bang for their substantial bucks, with hotspots stretching from Highland glens to the most exclusive streets of the capital.

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Castles, mansions, country estates and townhouses have been changing hands for millions of pounds in the past five years as eyes turn north of the border compared and the riches on offer compared to what can be bought down south.

Last year, almost £60m was spent gobbling up Scottish estates, while current properties on the market include a castle, an eco-friendly home which comes with its own Christmas tree farm, a private island once raided by Vikings and later used by smugglers, an estate mostly only accessible by boat and a six-bedroom Edinburgh home expected to sell for more than £2 million.

Robert McCulloch, head of estate and farm sales for Strutt & Parker in Scotland, said: "For those from the southern half of England, Europe and many other parts of the world, the opportunity to buy between 1,000 and 40,000 acres of land for the equivalent price of, say, a London townhouse or New York apartment has an enduring appeal.

"The driven and walked-up game shooting, deer stalking and salmon and trout fishing available in Scotland is of world-renown, and the opportunity to own and improve some of the most attractive, historic and dramatically positioned private houses in Europe is a key driver of the market."

The list of the most exclusive properties up for sale in Scotland was added to this week with the A-listed Century Bardowie Castle going up for sale, at a price which has been undisclosed.

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Reputed to have been a hideaway for the infamous outlaw Rob Roy MacGregor, and believed to house Scotland’s oldest original Stone Keep dating from the mid 16th century - the castle sits on the edge of Bardowie Loch and comes with 10 acres of land, its own tennis court, eight bedrooms and a walled garden.

Previously sold for more than £1.2 million, it's asking price is available only to those making serious requests this time round. But that is not expected to take long.

Malcolm Leslie, director of country house sales in Strutt & Parker’s Edinburgh office, said: “Fundamentally, demand outstrips supply and buyers are frustrated at the lack of properties on the market.

"As a result, prime properties which do come to the market are met with exceptional demand, particularly rural family homes within striking distance of urban centres.

"One property recently marketed had more than 100 viewings in two weeks and attracted several offers at a closing date. It is now under offer.”

Further north, a sporting estate in one of the most remote locations on the Scottish mainland is being sold for more than £2 million. Straddling the western end of Loch Monar in Ross-shire, 15,000-acre Pait and West Monar Estate is mostly only accessible by boat stis in the shadow of three Munros; Sgurr a Chaorachain, Sgurr Choinnich, and Lurg Mhor.

But buyers should beware - the main property on the estate, a Victorian hunting lodge, only received electricity in 2017 and is mostly still lit with oil lamps.

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Muir Estate, near Thornhill, was designed by the Swedish architect Märtha Wachtmeister and the current owner Jimmi Enevoldsen and is now on sale for offers over £1.2 million.

Surrounded by a Christmas tree farm, the lodge was built on the site of a ruin with some of the old stone used in the construction, and is heated through a ground-sourced system while the insulation has been built made 50 per cent thicker than standard.

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Mr Enevoldsen said: “We have enjoyed the secluded nature of the estate and the peace, quiet and wildlife that comes with that. The loch is very much as it was when we bought it, an oasis of tranquillity."

Buying up property and land to help protect the environment is another factor attracting investors to Scotland. Dane Anders Povlsen recently became the country's largest landowner, after a series of piecemeal acquisitions saw the 44-year-old has become the owner of 11 Scottish estates with plan to return them to the wild.

Robert McCulloch explained: "The opportunity to buy large expanses of wild and beautiful terrain for the purposes of pursuing a range of objectives relating to natural capital including re-establishment of native species of flora and fauna - ‘rewilding’ - and carbon-off setting related to industrial activity elsewhere are an increasingly prevalent factor amongst prospective estate buyers whether they are individuals, corporations or conservation bodies and charitable trusts."

Closer to home, and on the market for £1.4 million, the 600-acre island of Inchmarnock in the Firth of Clyde comes with its own farm and centuries of history

Fittingly described by a 17th century surveyor as a “proper habitation for one in love with a hermetical life”, the island is rich in history and natural heritage. A farmer discovered the remains of a local Bronze Age woman, the Queen of the Inch, in the 1960s. She lay in a stone cist wearing a black lignite necklace and carrying a flint dagger.

The remains form part of an exhibition in the Natural History Museum in Rothesay. An archaeological project commissioned by the current owner uncovered various artefacts including carved stones and the largest collection of slate in the British Isles, important because of its implications for monastic schooling. The excavated remains point to the existence of an early Christian centre of some importance.

The eighth century saw the island fall prey to Viking raids and it is believed victims of the 13th century Battle of Largs between Norway and Scotland were buried on the island. Additionally, Inchmarnock is rumoured to have been popular with smugglers, its woodland and craggy shoreline an ideal hiding place for contraband.

Meanwhile in the 19th century, legend has it that an alcoholic from Bute was banished alone to Inchmarnock to overcome her addiction.

More recently, the island was used as a training ground for D-Day preparations in World War Two and bomb craters are still evident.Inchmarnock was once home to 41 residents but the final permanent resident, a Bute farming tenant, left the island in 1986.

But it is not only windswept moors, Lochside retreats and isolated islands which are being rated as the most desirable property purchases in Scotland. Townhouses and chic urban dwellings also make the list, especially in Edinburgh, Scotland's fastest-growing property market for a number of years.

Estate agents have flagged up Northhumberland Street (CORRECT), a six-bedroom full townhouse with private garden in the heart of the capital's Georgian New Town as an example of the type of prime property changing hands with asking prices in the millions.

The dwelling, priced at offers over £2million, is spread over two storeys and sits close to exclusive schools such as the Edinburgh Academy, Fettes College, St George's School for Girls.

Andrew Riddell, senior associate director in Strutt & Parker’s Edinburgh office, said: “Family homes in Edinburgh are very, very popular and competition is fierce when prime properties come to the market. The most sought after are in New Town, Stockbridge, the West End, Murrayfield, Morningside, Bruntsfield and the Grange.

"I have recently marketed several family homes which have attracted stiff competition and either gone under offer within days of coming to the market or gone to a closing date. They often sell for around 10 per cent more than valuation. Equally, city centre flats are also very popular and similarly attract a lot of interest.”