Ben Fogle readies 'Castaway' island bid

Ben Fogle has said that he wants to make a bid for the deserted Hebridean island that was the setting for BBC reality TV series Castaway.

Property management firm CKD Galbraith is handling the sale of Taransay, which is made up of two islands linked by a sand bar in the Outer Hebrides, and has issued an asking price of £2m or above.

Fogle, who launched his career as a TV presenter after appearing on Castaway in 2001, told his followers on Twitter that he had been waiting a decade for the island to come on the market.

The presenter said that Taransay could become the "perfect" home for him, his wife Marina and their two children, Ludo and Iona.

Fogle, 37, tweeted: "Taransay Island is on the market. I have waited for ten years for this. It would be perfect for Ludo and Iona."

Taransay had three villages at one stage, but its population gradually dwindled and the last remaining family moved to the mainland in 1974.

The 3,445-acre island includes white sandy beaches, cliffs and moorlands, and its new owner will gain fishing rights and stalking rights for the 200 deer.

The three original buildings have been renovated and are now used as self-catering holiday cottages. However, Taransay can only be reached by boat and there are no phone lines. Power is supplied by an electricity generator and a wind turbine.

Fogle has long held an ambition to buy an island in Scotland and made previous failed bids for Ailsa Craig off the Ayrshire coast and Eilean Mullagrach, one of the Summer Isles.