Thriller by the sea
Dramatic villa capitalises on the landscape featured in hit TV series Vigil
IF you have been smitten by the Scottish scenery in the BBC’s Sunday night drama Vigil, then this is the place to get the best view. Five million people tuned in to the show starring Suranne Jones and Martin Compston last Sunday and Monday, and there was surely enough in the dark, deep-sea plot to keep figures up tonight, when the third episode is screened.
There’s not much to see when the Vanguard-class U-boat is at depth, apart from lots of drab, greypainted pipes and miles and miles of endless red corridors.
But when the action switches to the roads around the fictional Royal Naval base, the Argyll and Bute landscape comes alive. Scenes were shot around Helensburgh and the (real) sub base at Faslane on the Clyde last autumn, when the heather and bracken turn a bright orange in contrast to the blackness of the water surrounding it.
Achnashie is a dramatic modern villa, built five years ago in Rhu, where locals are on nodding terms with Britain’s nuclear submarine fleet and its submariners.
The water dominates life here. Situated on the east side of the Gare Loch, it’s home to the famous Royal Northern and Clyde Yacht Club, and Rhu Marina provides moorings for lovely local vessels.
The five-bedroom property was constructed to take full advantage of the breathtaking views over the Firth of Clyde, with the living accommodation on the first floor to ensure maximum panorama. The landscape is framed by large windows, which open via sliding doors to a full-width balcony, allowing you to take it all in.
The property is approached through electric gates, providing access to the sweeping stonechipped driveway leading up to the front door. The frontage could be viewed as Alpine in style, with two huge A-frames looking out to the water and resembling a Huf Haus, the luxury German prefab homes that can be constructed in days.
A glass door opens into the entrance vestibule, followed by the impressive 24ft reception hallway, used as a central hub.
All the ground-floor reception rooms are accessed from this hallway, creating a natural flow of bright and spacious accommodation. The kitchen is sleek and modern, in dark grey and white, with central island and breakfast bar next to the dining room, en suite double bedroom, store room, bathroom and utility room.
Upstairs, on the first floor, it’s the drawing room which dominates, with stylish inset wood burning stove plus useful pantry off.
It must be a fantastic space in which to live and entertain.
The four large double bedrooms all have en suite bath or shower rooms and two also have the added bonuses of both dressing rooms and decked balconies.
The gardens are mostly laid to lawn, with an extensive raised decking and seating area with water feature ideal for outdoor socialising.
A double integrated garage completes the accommodation.
You would do your shopping in Helensburgh, just three miles away, and it’s here that the real offduty submariners tend to congregate to do their drinking.
Vigil’s plot has already unearthed a violent punch-up in one of its bars, suggesting things can occasionally get a bit lively around here when crews are winding down after three months submerged below the Atlantic.
So, be careful how you address our Jollying Jack Tars. You don’t want them to go ballistic, do you?