AN AREA of woodland on the Helensburgh-Rhu boundary has sold at auction for over four times its guide price.

The 15.5 acre Glenoran estate was one of 10 lots in an online catalogue published by SVA Property Auctions and which recently went under the hammer.

The site occupies an elevated position overlooking the Gareloch and the Clyde and was originally the site of a grand house owned by Charles Kidston, an ancestor of famous textile designer Cath Kidston and a member of the Kidston family whose philanthropy was a major feature of life in Helensburgh in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Little remains of the original Glenoran House, although some of the terraced gardens and ornamental trees blend in with the mix of deciduous and evergreen trees on most of the land.

Bidding for the site, which had a guide price of £30,000, started at £15,000 and quickly escalated and sold at £125,000 with 15 parties registered to bid and with a wide range of interests in the property from woodland conservation to identifying opportunities for development of the site.

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