The Nobel Prize-winning musician has sold his 16-bedroom Scottish Highlands retreat to whiskey manufacturer Angus Dundee Distillers.
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The writer of “Girl From The North Country” has sold his estate in Scotland’s north country.
Nobel Prize-winning musician Bob Dylan has parted with his stately retreat in the Scottish Highlands for more than $5 million, according to a report in Mansion Global.
The 16-bedroom estate near Nethy Bridge in Cairngorms National Park was originally listed at roughly $3.7 million and received multiple offers.
The winning buyer was the Scotch whiskey producer Angus Dundee Distillers, which paid £4,257,650 or $5,340,051 for the estate. Dylan originally purchased the property for roughly $2.7 million with his brother, David Zimmerman.
The brothers enjoyed periodic visits to the estate over the years but decided to sell it after not using it for an extended period, according to the Times of London which reported when the estate was first listed in July.
The house has several reception rooms including a music room, along with 11 bathrooms and seven additional bedrooms in its attic. The property is made up of 25 acres of grounds including cottages, a large greenhouse, walled gardens, a fountain and a croquet lawn.
The estate was built between 1911 and 1914 as a retreat for Russian businessman Archibald Merrilees, who founded Russia’s first department store, M&M, in the mid-19th century. His family was forced to sell the store in the 1920s after their fortunes were hit hard by the Russian Revolution.
The estate, named Aultmore House, was later used as a hospital during World War II and a finishing school owned by a New Zealand-born spy. It later became a popular wedding venue until Dylan purchased it in 2006.
Dylan, who at 82 has spent the better part of the past two years touring the world for his 2020 album Rough and Rowdy Ways, has written of his affinity for the Scottish Highlands before, including in a song named for the region off his Grammy-winning 1997 album, Time Out of Mind.
“My heart’s in the Highlands wherever I roam / That’s where I’ll be when I get called home,” he sang.
Dylan’s tour is entering its final phase and is scheduled to wrap up sometime in 2024.
The sale was handled by Tom-Stewart Moore of Knight Frank.