Oceanfront Island Full Of Free-Roaming Penguins Can Be Yours For The Right Price

A spectacularly serene island on the Falklands full of penguins with its very own four-mile-long beach is up for sale.

Pebble Island has been owned by the Dean family for 150 years, but Sam Harris, the great-great-grandson of the original buyer, has decided it’s time to sell, he told the BBC. Wandering about the island are five different species of penguins, 42 species of birds and sea lions, 6,000 head of sheep and 125 cows.

The family has gradually sold off all of the other islands they own. No one from the family has lived on the island since the 1950s. It spans 20 miles long and four miles wide. It’s actually the third largest offshore island in the Falklands and boasts a mini mountain range, lakes, miles of coastline and cliffs, and a pebble beach for which it’s named.

John Markham Dean purchased the property in 1869 for approximately $500. He had traveled to the Falklands to establish a fish curing business after he had worked in a butchery.

“It’s an amazing place,” Sam Harris said. “Unfortunately, it’s just become too hard to manage.”

All of the grandchildren and other descendants of John Markham Dean have visited the island. But no one is able to dedicate the time and energy to take care of it anymore.

“My wife, Lowri and I went there in 2011, and we had a close affinity with it. We talked about living there and taking over the hospitality side of the island, but it came as we were having children. It was a difficult decision, but it comes down to the fact that my mum and dad aren’t in a position to continue managing it,” Harris said. “It’s going to be difficult to say goodbye to it.”

Harris noted that the family would entertain purchase offers, but they really hope someone with an interest in farming would buy it.

“We want it to be developed, and to go to someone who will really care for it,” he said. “It’s got great potential with tourism because there’s a big army base there, but there are also a lot of animals on the island, some which need to be looked after. The island produces a lot of wool, much of which goes to the UK, so a farming background would be helpful.”

The island has been named an International Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) and is a wonderful escape from reality for the right buyer, he said.