Location

The town of Auchterarder sits just to the north of Thornton House, with the high street only about a mile away. The town provides good day to day services including a supermarket, two butchers, bakery, post office, ironmonger, library, health centre and primary and secondary schooling, as well as a wide range of specialist shops. The Perth to Dunblane railway line runs directly to the south of the property, providing an excellent public transport option. Nearby Gleneagles railway station (about 4 miles) runs daily services north and south, including a sleeper service to London, while Dunblane provides commuter services to both Edinburgh and Glasgow. Gleneagles Hotel offers a wealth of luxury leisure facilities including a riding school and three championship golf courses. Perth lies some 13 miles to the east and offers a broad range of national retailers, theatre, concert hall, cinema, restaurants and railway station.

The cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow are both about 45 miles away by road, and provide international airports, mainline railway stations and extensive city amenities. Independent schools in Perthshire include Morrison's Academy and Ardvreck in Crieff, Glenalmond just beyond; Craigclowan on the edge of Perth and Strathallan near Bridge of Earn. Dollar Academy and the Fairview International School at Bridge of Allan are also within easy reach. The Community School of Auchterarder is a medium sized school with nursery, primary and secondary all on one campus.

The surrounding hills and glens offer many walks and the opportunity to enjoy the scenic beauty of the Scottish countryside and observe the native wildlife. The Ochil Hills, and in particular the prominent Craig Rossie, sit to the south of Thornton House. The Ochils offer popular hikes, as well as excellent hacking routes from the house.

Description

Thornton House dates back to the mid-1800s, and sits in a superb rural setting just to the south of Auchterarder and less than a mile from its high street. The house benefits from an excellent range of outbuildings including stabling and a steel-framed agricultural barn, providing equestrian facilities, or the potential for a lifestyle smallholding.

The house is approached from the rear courtyard where there is ample parking. The kitchen / breakfast room sits directly off the entrance porch, with a separate door leading to the central hall. The kitchen has a central island with integrated sink, and there is an extensive range of fitted units, all with granite work surfaces. Integrated appliances include a four oven AGA, microwave and dishwasher. Two window seats overlook the house's side garden. The family room and dining room both sit off the central hall. The rooms mirror one another in size, and both have open fireplaces and stunning outlooks over the principal garden. The spacious sitting room is located beyond the dining room and has beautiful views and an abundance of light thanks to its windows on three aspects, and Velux windows overhead. The large windows at the gable end offer views over the fields towards Auchterarder and the Perthshire hills beyond. A door also leads out into the garden. Also off the central hall is a sunroom which leads out into the garden and a WC. The utility room sits off the entrance porch leading out to the rear courtyard and parking area.

From the central hall an original wooden staircase with wrought iron balustrades curves up to the first floor. There are four bedrooms on this level. The principal bedroom has a range of fitted wardrobes, and an en suite bathroom. There is a family bathroom, with both a bath and a separate shower cubicle. Across the hallway is a store cupboard which houses the hot water tank.

Rear Courtyard and Gardens

The driveway sweeps past the front garden and around to the rear of the house where there is a monobloc courtyard providing generous parking. Across from the house there is a useful set of outbuildings which include a timber built double garage with sliding garage door, an adjacent car-port and an open-ended store. Floodlighting has been installed over the courtyard.

The mature gardens at Thornton House are spectacular and wrap around the front of the house to the west, around to the north and behind the house to the east. The gardens are enclosed by a rich variety of deciduous and evergreen trees and interspersed with a range of mature shrubs and stocked flowerbeds. The area to the front is terraced, with stone steps leading down to the burn which passes along the north and eastern edge of the gardens. A flagstone terrace up at the house provides a lovely viewpoint for outdoor entertaining. In the rear garden there is a greenhouse, and a fenced-off kitchen garden.

Fields and Stabling

A split in the main driveway leads off to the stabling. The stables are in a large, timber framed and part block-built building (about 19 x 7 metres), in which there is a large loose box, two further loose boxes and a storage / feed area. Beyond it there is a steel framed with concrete panelling agricultural shed (about 18 x 12 metres). These buildings are situated overlooking the three fields. The largest field is to the far north and measures about 7.8 acres. The second field to the south has been divided into two smaller fields (about 3.6 acres and 2.1 acres), and a holding paddock to the front of the house (about 0.3 acres).