The Herald - The Herald Magazine
NEW TO MARKET
ORIGINALLY the gamekeeper’s cottage for Crabbie’s Estate (of the whisky/ginger fame), Blairhoyle West Lodge today is an extended country house in a peaceful setting on the edge of Blairhoyle, a hamlet close to Blair Drummond, Thornhill and Port of Menteith – some of the most desirable rural areas within easy reach of Stirling and the M9 motorway but also the beautiful Lake of Menteith, Loch Lomond and Loch Venachar.
However, location and lifestyle are not the only reasons to seek out this unique L-shaped home: internally, it offers substantial accommodation on one level – only one ensuite bedroom is on an upper level, accessed by a spiral staircase – while outside, the property sits within sizable south-facing gardens and benefits from beautiful views to Flanders Moss, Fintry Hills and Dumgoyne. There is also a private gravel driveway and sizable parking area suitable for a number of vehicles.
With three reception rooms and five bedrooms, the accommodation ensures flexibility for family lifestyle changes.
From the corner entrance, a wood-floored reception hall leads in one direction to a dual aspect sitting room, spacious living room with a quirky angled bay window, feature fireplace and garden access (via an attractive adjoining rear porch), cloakroom, family bathroom and three bedrooms.
The other side of the hall, meanwhile, provides a fourth double bedroom/ study, large utility room, and adjoining 21ft open-plan family /dining kitchen with windows on two sides and two sets of French doors on the gable end open onto a large decked area for alfresco dining and seating area.
Last but not least, a spiral staircase in the hall leads up to an 18ft fifth bedroom, which has a walk-in wardrobe and en-suite shower room – an ideal space either as a principal bedroom, guest suite or teenage exclusion zone.
Attractively presented throughout, the hub of this home is undoubtedly the openplan dining kitchen, a huge space with fitted kitchen units/integrated appliances on two sides adjacent to a dining area, still leaving a large area for an informal family seating/TV area. Next door, the utility houses laundry appliances and has direct access to the garden.
The tranquillity of the mature gardens and wider setting is central to this lovely home’s appeal and for outdoor enthusiasts, the area offers wide-ranging pursuits on land, hill and water.
Coupled with easy access to Stirling, Glasgow and the Central Belt, Blairhoyle West Lodge is an exemplary family home and lifestyle opportunity.
Offers over £399,000 are invited by Aderdein Considine’s Stirling office (Home Report value £420,000).
FLAT hunters take note. Newly on the market is an awesome penthouse-style flat in one of the most impressive and exciting buildings on the southside of Glasgow. Flat 3/2 Queens Drive occupies the prime top floor level of a Victorian building, within B-listed Balmoral Terrace adjacent to Queen’s Park, a 148-acre outdoor attraction beloved by southsiders of all ages and one of Scotland’s best surviving examples of Victorian park design.
Incorporating the south-west-facing corner, the apartment is jaw-dropping, nowhere more so than the living room, which has wood flooring and focal fireplace with inset Living Flame fire, while two huge windows (with external balconies and aged, moss-covered stone balustrades) command spectacular open views over the park.
Accessed by a lower secure entry hall and carpeted staircase, the 30ft-long reception hall is also impressive, boasting engineered wood flooring and more than ample space at one end for a dedicated dining area or home office. The flat also has three large and beautifully presented double bedrooms, fully tiled contemporary bathroom, and a sizable dining kitchen with fitted units and integrated appliances.
This home’s proportions are superb – high ceilings, low-level double-glazed sash and case windows and an abundance of light boosted by the hall cupola and Velux windows. Other traditional hallmarks include deep coving, moulded dado rails contrasted by a fresh contemporary interior style.
As a location, the area’s popularity stems from its proximity to the park. Attractions therein include tennis, playgrounds, boating pond, bandstand, glasshouse/café, bowling green and weekly Farmers’ Market, but there are also many highly rated gastropubs, global eateries and shops within walking distance along Victoria Road and nearby Pollokshaws Road, in addition to train stations at Crosshill and Pollokshaws. Offers over £269,000 are invited by Clyde Property.