Countryside not just for the elites

SCOTLAND'S stunning natural beauty is the envy of the world. But it's also true that there are few other nations where so much of the countryside is owned by a small number of super-rich landowners.

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An estimated half of Scotland's private land is owned by a total of 432 people.

That is an astonishing statistic.

From Dukes and Lords to Danish billionaire tycoons to oil sheikhs, too much of Scotland is a playground for the super-wealthy. The SNP government at Holyrood clearly - at some level - accepts this.

There have been various attempts to reform land ownership in recent years.