Location

Cairnhead Farm is situated in a coastal location on the productive southern Machars peninsula in Wigtownshire. The charming house and small steading require full refurbishment but are situated well to take advantage of uninterrupted coastal and countryside views.

Wigtownshire is a genuinely rural area of Scotland, well known for dairy and livestock farming, magnificent countryside and dramatic coastlines. Nearby Isle of Whithorn is a small seaside village and port with a busy pub/restaurant and a community venue which also hosts a small shop and café. Whithorn, which is approximately 3 miles to the north west, is famed for being the home of Christianity in Scotland and provides a host of further community amenities such as a primary school, doctor's surgery, pharmacy, Post Office, convenience store, library, playpark, sports facilities, cafés, pubs and a local garage. The Whithorn Priory and Museum and Whithorn Roundhouse attract many tourists wishing to retrace the steps of St Ninian who has countless connections to this part of Wigtownshire.

To the north is the market town of Newton Stewart where there is secondary schooling, leisure and sports facilities and a wider range of business services, supermarkets and shops. The town serves as the gateway to explore the Galloway Forest Park which covers a vast and sparsely populated landscape stretching to the north and east and is one of only a handful of parks in the western world to have official Dark Sky status. There is a visitor centre at Kirroughtree where one of the world class 7stanes mountain bike destinations is located, featuring a superb variety of green, blue and red graded trails for mountain biking or walking.

The rolling landscape, extensive woodland and rugged coastline provide many opportunities for outdoor pursuits. Cairnsmore of Carsphairn and the Merrick provide two challenging climbs for hiking enthusiasts whilst the Southern Upland Way runs 214 miles from Portpatrick on the west coast to Cockburnspath on the eastern coast of Scotland.

Country sports in the area include fishing on the nearby rivers Bladnoch and Cree, as well as pheasant and partridge shooting on surrounding estates. The quiet country roads are popular with walkers and cyclists, and there is golf on local courses at Monreith, Wigtown and Newton Stewart. The coastline offers excellent sailing and sea fishing, and there are safe anchorages at the Isle of Whithorn, Garlieston and Port William. There are livestock markets at Newton Stewart, Dumfries, Castle Douglas (50 miles), Ayr (63 miles) and Carlisle (101 miles - all distances approximate).

Communication links in the area include railway stations in Stranraer (35 miles), Barrhill (37 miles) and Dumfries. The A75 is accessible at nearby Newton Stewart, linking to the M74 in the east of the region. The nearest international airports are at Prestwick (about 71 miles) and Glasgow (about 112 miles). Cairnryan lies around 37 miles to the west and is the main ferry terminal for Northern Ireland with services to both Larne and Belfast.

Description

Cairnhead Farmhouse is constructed of stone under a part slate, part tiled roof. On the ground floor there is a kitchen, dining room and living room with open fireplaces, front porch and former maid's room off the living room. On the first floor there are three bedrooms, a family bathroom and a box room/ study. There is an oil fired boiler and a Rayburn serving the farmhouse central heating/hot water systems which have not been in use in recent times and are therefore not warranted.

The house is served by a private water supply located in the field to the south and pumped direct to the farmhouse. There is an enclosed lawned garden to the front of the house, and two adjoining stone outhouses at the rear.

The farm benefits from a range of buildings predominantly constructed from stone and slate, generally in fair to poor condition. Other additional buildings are of brick construction with asbestos cement roof coverings. The outbuildings would suit a range of purposes from storage and stabling to conversion to residential or holiday accommodation, subject to the necessary consents.

The farmland and woodlands extend to about 19.78 hectares (48.86 acres) in total, comprising seven enclosures within a ring fenced block rising from 5m to 22m above sea level. The land is generally level with gentle slopes and is classified by the James Hutton Institute as a mixture of classes 3(2) and 4(1) on the Land Capability for Agriculture scale. The area of scrub woodland to the northern foreshore is class 6(1). The land is enclosed predominantly by stone dykes or post and wire fencing, and is watered from a private water supply located in field 5, which is pumped to field troughs with the exception of the woodlands and field 11. The fields are accessed from the main farm access track, internally or the public road.

Directions

From the A75, follow signs to Newton Stewart. At the Newton Stewart roundabout, exit the A75 onto the A714 towards Wigtown. After about 5.2 miles, turn right onto the B7005 signposted Whithorn and Port William. Follow this road for about 11.3 miles until reaching Whithorn. In the centre of Whithorn turn left onto Castle hill (passing the primary school) and follow this road for 1.8 miles. Then bear right onto the B7063. Cairnhead is a further 1.1 miles on the left hand side. The postcode is DG8 8JG. what3words: ///activates.dated.concluded