Island once belonging to John Lennon is up for sale

An island off the west coast of Ireland is up for sale for €300,000 (£240,000). What makes it particularly unusual is that it was once owned by John Lennon, who bought it for £1,700 in 1967: but what do you get for your money?

Irish Central says Dorinish is made up of two small islands, joined by a natural stone causeway. In all it offers 19 acres in a beautiful spot in County Mayo's Clew Bay. However, if you buy it you can't expect much in terms of amenities, because apart from the sheep it's uninhabited.

What you get
You'll be buying a slice of Lennon's history - after buying the island he shipped a gypsy caravan in psychedelic colours to the island as a temporary holiday home, and visited the island to establish its potential

He and his first time Cynthia wanted to build something more permanent. However, their marriage broke down soon after they bought the island, and Lennon invited a group of hippies to set up a commune on the island in 1970 instead.

They stayed until their camp was destroyed by a particularly fierce storm - after which it was left empty once more. After Lennon's death Yoko Ono sold the island for a reported £30,000, and donated the proceeds to an Irish orphanage.

Aside from its heritage, you're also buying potential. At the moment it's little more than a spectacular spot for a camping trip. However RTE points out that there could also be the potential for planning permission - especially given that Lennon himself obtained permission to build shortly after buying the island - and only changed his mind after his first marriage ended.

The channel adds that the island has been on the market since 2012 - so there's the chance to strike a good deal.

The alternative
It offers exciting potential for the truly devoted Beatles fan. However, if you have the funds for it, there's a far less challenging slice of John Lennon's history on the market at the moment in Surrey. Kenwood, the six bedroom mansion where he lived in St George's Hill in Weybridge, and wrote many of the tracks on the Sergeant Pepper Album, is on the market.

Admittedly the asking price is an eye-watering £13,750,000, but for your money you get six bathrooms, six bedrooms a cinema room, games room and an indoor swimming pool. And life is likely to be significantly less affected by Atlantic storms.

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