Eagles soar above the rugged peaks of the Benmore estate, on the Isle of Mull, surveying forested glens thick with deer, the graceful expanse of an 18th-century sporting lodge and a sinuous coastline where seals and otters hunt for their prey, keeping a safe distance from the minke whales, dolphins, orcas and basking sharks that stalk the deep Hebridean sea in summer.
Arriving at Benmore is almost like stepping back in time to a wilder, more natural Britain. ‘In a world where children are so taken by screens, media and connectivity, one lovely thing about Mull is that it really brings them back to Nature,’ says the estate’s owner, Tim Radford. ‘There are no high-rise hotels, no night clubs and no bright lights. There are very few cars and animals roam free. It’s the world as it was 200 years ago, so raw and unspoilt.’
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