The Gully Familys 80-Year Journey on the Hebridean Island of Shuna: From Fresh Start to Selling Historic Home

The Gully family's historic home on the Island of Shuna is now on the market for £5.5 million, 80 years after the family's matriarch purchased the Hebridean island in a bid to leave the city. The island, which includes a now-ruined castle, working farm, and a holiday accommodation business, has been home to the Gully family since 1945. The island's position in the Hebridean archipelago protects it from the ocean swells, but occasionally brings inhabitants the challenge of navigating the Corryvreckan whirlpools. "Quite often over the years we've had to go Corryvreckan with a boat laden with sheep, so that's led to some exciting journeys," said Jim Gully, the second generation of the family brought up on the island. The castle on Shuna was built with "no expense spared" by New Zealand-born adventurer George Alexander MacLean Buckley in 1911, just three years after he joined an Antarctic voyage on Nimrod with Ernest Shackleton. The castle blueprints, and the architect who designed them, are believed to have been on the Titanic's fateful voyage. "He was about to export the plans to America and build a lot more of them," said Gully. "The plans for it went down with the Titanic and stopped lots of flat-roofed castles being built in America." Over the past 12 years, the island has been managed by Rob and Kathryn James, who live full-time on Shuna. However, their plan to move into another role prompted the family to consider selling up. Viewings start later this week, but in the meantime regular visitors are securing their stays for the rest of the year. Jim Gully described his childhood on Shuna as idyllic, with white sand beaches and rocky coves providing a perfect backdrop for his youth. His father Eddie, the fourth child in the family, was born and brought up on Shuna but now lives on the Isle of Seil, which is linked to the mainland by road. "He's had 80 years of stewarding and looking after Shuna and trying to get all sorts of businesses going and has absolutely loved it the whole of his life," said Gully. While it is sad for the Gully family that their historic home is coming to an end, there is also relief for Eddie that he will no longer have to manage the island three or four times a week. The sale of Shuna marks a new chapter for the family, but one that will always hold a special place in their hearts.