Huge £35m estate goes on sale for the first time in 700 years – and world famous rock star is interested in buying it

A HUGE estate has gone on sale for the first time in 700 years - and Queen guitarist Sir Brian May is interested in buying it.

The rock legend, 76, was spotted viewing the £35million Rothbury estate in Northumberland on Friday.

The estate, historically owned by the Duke of Northumberland, has not been on the market since 1332.

Sir Brian - who is also an astrophysicist and animal welfare advocate —was spotted swooping in via helicopter with his wife Anita Dobson, 74, much to the shock of locals.

After landing on one of the estate’s 12 farms the couple toured the land by car with an estate agent.

One neighbour told : “Brian May's helicopter landed over there [in that field], and he and Anita came over and said hello to everyone.

“I think they had a picnic lunch. They were here for a good two or three hours. They were very nice, but I'm not particularly starstruck so I didn't ask him for a photo.”

Sir Brian’s chopper was also seen checking out a nearby pub, which may be included in the 9,486-acres up for grabs.

A local farmer said: “We could see the helicopter circling over the pub – he looked like he was properly checking it out. We were speculating on whether he'd call in for a pint!

“I gather one of our postmen bumped into him and said, 'You look just like Brian May', and he said, 'That's because I am Brian May'.”

The estate, which sits on the edge of the Northumberland National Park, was put on the market by the Duke of Northumberland’s youngest son, Max – Lord Percy, 33.

However, it does not include the Duke's home, Alnwick Castle, which is the family seat.

Knight Frank’s listing of the land says it is “a landmark sale of the largest single block of land to come to the market in England in the last 30 years”. 

It comes after the Queen star was knighted by King Charles back in March.

May — famed for hits including We Will Rock You and Bohemian Rhapsody — was recognised for his services to music and charity.

Meanwhile, Sir Brian’s wife recently revealed he now works for Nasa making 3D versions of photos for the US space agency.

May was awarded a PhD in astrophysics from Imperial College London in 2007.

And he creates advanced stereograph space images — larger, higher quality versions of the 3D cards that used to be given away with cereal packets for kids.

May uses two nearly identical images paired to produce the illusion of a single three-dimensional image, usually viewed through a stereoscope.

The Sun has contacted Brian May for comment.