An exquisite country house in classic Georgian style with symmetrical architecture, situated in manicured, ornamental, landscaped and wooded grounds set within a walled garden.


An exquisite country house in classic Georgian style with symmetrical architecture, situated in manicured, ornamental, landscaped and wooded grounds set within a walled garden.

Description
Failford House is a handsome detached country house of painted harled exterior, window mullions and door facings are in painted smooth ashlar, and all is under a tiled roof. Georgian symmetry is evident throughout the house, and the fenestration reflects the symmetrical architecture of the Georgian period. The principal structure and attached cottage are arranged to form an internal courtyard at the rear.

Failford House is very much a hidden gem of South Ayrshire. The house is set within historic buttressed walled gardens, the exterior and interior appearance of the house pays loyal tribute towards symmetrical Georgian architecture and belies its true vintage (1976).

The enchanting gardens are simply a delight, and over the years have been carefully and strategically stocked to ensure year-round interest. The gardens were open for charity in July 2021 in association with the Scotland’s Garden Scheme.

The potager (an ornamental fruit, vegetable and flower garden) is at the rear of the house and is indeed one of the highlights of Failford House. It provides an extensive collection of specimen flowers and plants, kitchen produce, herbs and fruits. The potager is very carefully planned, and it provides year-round interest, a riot of summer colour and pleasant scents. In the potager gravel pathways provide ease of access throughout and sheltered arbours have been created from where to enjoy the rose collections, herbaceous borders and pleached fruit trees in morning, afternoon and evening sun. An attractive octagonal summerhouse is at its central point and provides a pleasant position from where to enjoy the delights of the potager all year round.

Ground Floor
Pedimented porch to twin leaf outer storm doors to entrance vestibule with recessed matwell. Half glazed bevelled glass door to large lounge-hall reception room with natural light from feature oval gallery and matching arch top display alcoves. Cloakroom/wc, drawing room with dado rail, open fire set in white marble fireplace and hearth with grey/green marble slips, twin leaf French windows to gardens. Fine formal dining room with dado rail and decorative fireplace, lovely snug with open fire set in timber fireplace with black slips and hearth, dado rail, communicating door to traditionally styled conservatory with hexagonal quarry floor tile and French windows providing access to the gardens. Well equipped, integrated kitchen with electric 4 oven Aga range cooker, granite worktops, good space for informal dining and breakfasting, French windows leading to gardens. Home office/study/pantry, generously proportioned utility room with extensive built in storage cupboards, rear hall with fitted louvre door fronted stores, door to east garden and greenhouse, cloakroom/wc, boiler room with hot tank store, integral access to garage from hallway. Ground floor bedroom 1 (master suite), open Georgian arch to en suite dressing room and en suite bathroom with French style roll top and claw foot bath and marble topped vanitory unit.

First Floor
Staircase to broad upper lounge-landing with oval galleried banister, bedroom 2 with fitted bedroom furniture and concealed vanity wash hand basin, bedroom 3, bedroom 4 with en suite bathroom. Main first floor family bathroom.

Attic
Access to a partially floored and insulated attic via a retractable Ramsay ladder. With the appropriate permissions, warrants and consents, it may be possible to develop the attic space to provide further residential accommodation.

Cottage
The former housekeeper’s cottage forms the northern courtyard. Until recently it provided storage for vintage and classic cars. The structure would easily revert to a granny/teenager/extended family/home office/studio/games room/entertainment room or income producing letting cottage. The floor plan in red shows the original footprint.
                        
Outbuildings
Integral access from rear lower hallway to integral garage with twin arched top doors, concrete floor with central drain, general purpose stores and door to east garden. Lean-to potting shed and gardeners’ stores, 12’ x 10’ wooden greenhouse with benches and shelving and cold frames, garden machinery and equipment stores, large brick built, slate roofed garden store with chimney, teak octagonal summer house with electricity, heating and water supply.

Gardens
Asphalt driveway with mown edges and curling stone guide stones, gravel guest parking outside and within outer wall. Twin leaf vehicular and pedestrian gates set in gate piers with terra cotta urn finials. A full height character brick buttressed outer wall has heavy stone coping stones and bounds the entire formal gardens. Within the main gates there is ample gravel parking/turning space with ramped access to the motor house with a dwarf wall and well established shrub borders leading to the courtyard. Pathways surround the house and to the front is a mature and gently sloping lawn with central Ying & Yang harmony beds, fringed with trees underplanted with colourful spring rhododendrons and other specimen plants and shrubs. A thriving Wisteria is draped on the front of the house, beneath which is a flagstone terrace with stocked beds. Lawns and pathways lead to the well court, pond, south walk and round the house to the rear and potager gardens. Ornamental beds with interconnecting gravel pathways are beautifully stocked and have been designed to reduce maintenance and maximise performance. The potager is planted with standard and shrub roses, herbaceous perennials, soft fruit and vegetable beds and productive fruit trees decoratively “pleach pruned” around the perimeter. There are numerous trellis arches festooned with flowering climbers. At the centre of the potager is a summer house. A decorative wrought-iron gate set in the rear wall has F and H steel motif and leads out of the walled garden to the rear woodland grounds. Further pathways run around the perimeter of the outer wall where there are mixed woodlands and a further beech hedge which forms a sheltered well court with pathway leading to flagstone edged pond. The gardens are a haven for wildlife. A recently planted nut tree orchard is also on the outer wall. There is vehicular access to the north woodland/compost areas.

Woodland
About 1 acre mixed woodland to the northern side of the grounds.

In all, the land holding at Failford House extends to 3.26 acres (1.31 Ha).

Services
UV lamped and filtered private water supply, drainage is by private septic tank, oil fired central heating (new boiler 2016) underground bulk oil tank store. Income producing solar panels.

Note: The services have not been checked by the selling agents.

Additional Items
Items of furniture, soft furnishings and garden tools and machinery may be available by separate negotiation.

Local Authorities
South Ayrshire Council
12 Main Street
Ayr
KA8 8EB
Tel: 01292 286385.

Council Tax
Failford House is in Band H and the amount of council tax payable for 2022/2023 is £3,390.70 excluding water and drainage.

EPC
EPC rating D.

Situation
Failford House is situated about 1.2 miles to the east of the little South Ayrshire hamlet of Failford where there is the Failford Inn and Failford Gorge which offers beautiful walking opportunities.

The house enjoys a wonderful secluded setting with stunning uninterrupted southerly views across adjacent softly rolling countryside to the Galloway Hills with views to the peaks of Goat Fell on the Island of Arran to the west. Failford House is set within historic buttressed walled gardens which, together with mature trees, combine to enhance privacy, shelter and seclusion.

Mauchline (1.5 miles to the east) is the nearest small town for everyday amenities, GP surgery, church, primary school and vets practices. There is a primary school in Sorn, and the brand new school, The Robert Burns Academy at Cumnock, provides secondary schooling. Private independent education is available at Ayr (Wellington School) and Glasgow.

Auchinleck has a swimming pool, Tesco store and railway station.

Kilmarnock and Ayr are 9 miles distant respectively and are larger county towns with a wide range of amenities. The celebrated Dumfries House with royal patronage is close by, Culzean Castle to the south of Ayr is a spectacular and popular national trust property. Ayr also offers wonderful beaches and a theatre, and Kilmarnock has a multiplex cinema.

Glasgow city centre is about 31 miles to the north via the A76 which connects with the M77 and M8. As with most major cities, it has an extensive range of retail, higher educational, leisure and professional services. Edinburgh city centre is circa 64 miles to the east via the A76, M77 and M8.

For outdoor enthusiasts this area provides a wealth of opportunity.

Ayrshire boasts approximately 50 golf courses including championship courses at Turnberry, Royal Troon and Old Prestwick. There are a number of leisure facilities in the area including a dry ski slope at Newmilns, swimming pools and a mountain bike club. The Irvine Valley has fine, well-marked, walking routes all within easy access. The Firth of Clyde and sheltered west coast waters of Scotland provide a variety of water sports including sailing and water-skiing. The beautiful islands of Arran, Bute and the Cumbraes are easily accessed by ferry services from coastal towns nearby. Grouse moor, low ground pheasant shooting and roe deer stalking can be rented locally.

The equestrian community is well served in the area. Irvine (18 miles) has 3 miles of sandy beach on which horse-riding is permitted. There are local pony clubs and a range of eventing competitions hosted on nearby estates. Rowallan (near Kilmarnock) has excellent show jumping and dressage arenas and nearby Barskimming Estate offers cross country events.

For travel, the property is well positioned for both the M77 and M74.

Prestwick Airport is 10 miles away, Glasgow Airport 37 miles. Both offer a wide range of flights to domestic and international destinations.

Travel Directions
From Glasgow, proceed west on the M8, take junction 22 heading southwest on the M77 signposted Kilmarnock & Prestwick Airport. Continue on the M77, after 22 miles take the exit signposted Dumfries A76 and Edinburgh A71. At the roundabout, take the second exit onto the A76 following signs Dumfries. Continue on the A76 for 7.1 miles to the centre of Mauchline. Turn right onto the B743 following signs Ayr. Continue on the B743 for 1.4 miles. Immediately after “Welcome to South Ayrshire” sign turn right into gateway at Gate Lodge. Continue past the gate lodge and pass converted coach house, proceed to the top of the driveway, Failford House entrance gates are at the top where the driveway terminates.

From Ayr, at the Whitletts Roundabout on the A77 Ayr bypass, take the exit on to the B743 Mauchline. Continue on the B743 and proceed through Mossblown and Failford. After 7.5 miles turn left onto the access driveway for Failford House (if you pass “Welcome to East Ayrshire” sign you have gone too far). Continue past the gate lodge and converted coach house and proceed to the top of the driveway. Failford House entrance gates are at the top where the driveway terminates.