Aytounhill House, Aytounhill, Newburgh, Cupar, Fife, KY14

SITUATION
Aytounhill sits in a secluded rural setting some 5 miles from the market town of Cupar which provides excellent facilities including supermarkets, local retailers, primary and secondary schools, golf club and sports centre. A short drive to the east is the ancient university town of St. Andrews which is a major tourist destination not only for its famous golf courses which hosts the Open Championship every five years but also for the celebrated West Sands beach which was a setting for the film Chariots of Fire.

Dundee sits across the River Tay where amenities include the V&A museum, the Dundee Rep theatre, cinemas, Discovery Point, home of the RRS Discovery ship, two universities, railway station, extensive retail outlets and its airport offering regular services to Heathrow. Dundee is also the home of Ninewells, the large and well respected teaching hospital. The city of Perth known as the Gateway to the Highlands is 17 miles to the north west.

There are state primary and secondary schools in the area with independent schooling available at St. Leonards in St. Andrews, the High School of Dundee as well as Craigclowan, Strathallan and Glenalmond all closer to Perth.

The area is very well connected in terms of accessibility, with the main M90 motorway running between Perth and Edinburgh lying only 12 miles to the west. The centre of Edinburgh lies in just under an hours’ car journey whilst Edinburgh’s international airport lies around fifty minutes to the south by road. There are mainline railway stations in Cupar, Leuchars and Ladybank.

Fife is a county offering a wide range of recreational activities within easy reach of Aytounhill. Lying between Leuchars and Tayport is the Tentsmuir Forest National Nature Reserve offering walking and cycling trails. Walkers can explore the Lomond Hills Regional Park by Falkland or navigate the Fife Coastal Path, whilst the Angus Glens to the north of Dundee provide some more challenging hiking routes. Aytounhill House itself sits directly below Norman’s Law, at over 900 feet, the highest hill in North Fife. It was an Iron Age hill fort and settlement having panoramic views over the surrounding countryside and on a clear day views to Lochnagar, Ben Lomond, Schiehallion as well as over the River Tay to Perth can be enjoyed.

LOT 1 – Description
The estate is centred around the beautiful and impressive Queen Anne style country house built in 1989 on the site of a former Victorian mansion house. Historic records and title deeds refer to a dwelling on the site dating back to 1632.

Aytounhill House stands in a majestic elevated setting, totally secluded and framed by ancient oaks, beeches and conifers with magnificent southerly views down over a succession of terraces and the private lake through the woodland to the hills beyond. The private driveway off the public road is over half a mile long and lined by mature chestnut, lime, beech and sycamore. The wide verges to either side over its entire length up to the grassy bank directly to the east of the house provide a stunning display of naturalised daffodils in the spring. Access to the Fife Coastal Path is found from the rear driveway and provides outstanding walks and horse riding to the nearby farmland and hills.

Built in a traditional style of rendered block under a slated roof, Aytounhill House was completed to the highest of standards. The quality of finish is evident throughout including heavy and wide panelled doors, fine plaster work with cornicing, astragal double glazed sash and case windows, period fireplaces and a sweeping central staircase with gallery landing. The rooms are all brightly lit, airy and well proportioned with many enjoying double aspects looking out over the beautiful gardens and grounds and onto the countryside beyond.

Both the drawing room and family room benefit from open fires and southerly aspects. The kitchen is very much the heart of the house. It has a Martin Moore fitted kitchen, under floor heated limestone tiled floor and 3 oven electric Aga, with a good sized dining area looking out over the garden, relaxed snug area and double doors leading to the conservatory to the east. A separate door leads to the practical ancillary rooms to the rear providing ample storage, a utility room and boot room. A guest bedroom with en-suite bathroom completes the ground floor accommodation, with a sweeping staircase leading up to the first floor galleried landing. From here, doors lead on to the further six bedrooms, with the principal bedroom benefitting from two dressing rooms and a bathroom. There are three additional en-suite bedrooms and two further bedrooms and a family bathroom. The accommodation, over two floors, can be summarised as follows:

Ground Floor: Vestibule, Staircase Hall, Boot Room, Cloakroom, Guest Bedroom with En-Suite Bathroom, Drawing Room, Dining Room, Study, Breakfasting Kitchen open plan to Snug, Conservatory, WC, Utility Room, gun cupboard, walk-in cupboard with Milner safe

First Floor: Principal Bedroom with 2 Dressing Rooms and Bathroom, Bedroom 3 with En-Suite Bathroom, Bedroom 4 with En-Suite Bathroom, Bedroom 5 (Single), Bedroom 6 (Double), Family Bathroom, walk-in linen cupboard

Garden & Grounds
The garden at Aytounhill has been thoughtfully designed to provide colour and interest throughout the year with a variety of rhododendrons, roses, perennials and flowering shrubs. On the western side of the house there is a formal area with a croquet pitch sized lawn bound by mature yew and beech hedges and which contains a very productive orchard principally of apples.

To the front of the house there is a gravel terrace with mixed borders and a flight of steps leads to a lawned terrace and on down through a meadow which in the spring is a mass of daffodils and narcissi giving over to bluebells.

This area is reached by a flight of sandstone steps remaining from the original house and it benefits from impressive mature trees including copper beech, willow, birch and a large beech. To the east of the meadow is what was the old Victorian grass tennis court.

Grass paths lead through the meadow, or alternatively through the arboretum which lies off the driveway, thence around the lake to Carpow. This is a rocky outcrop topped by mixed woodland predominantly of scots pine and larch which is carpeted with bluebells in the spring.

Lying to the east of the house is Broom Hill, an open deciduous woodland with a mass of primroses in the Spring.

To the west and north there are grass paddocks. The gardens and grounds of Aytounhill and particularly the lake provide a rich home for a myriad of wildlife including red squirrels, herons, ducks, many different song birds and a recent sighting of an osprey and occasionally an otter. Swans regularly nest on one of the islands. The lake provides fishing and has a boathouse on the north bank.

Outbuildings

Normans Barn
Normans Barn lies to the north of Aytounhill House with access to the farm road. Subject to obtaining the necessary consents it offers scope for conversion into an additional dwelling.

West Barn
The West Barn sits on the western edge of the estate. Preliminary designs for a modern dwelling have been prepared by the award winning architects, Brown & Brown, and these have received positive pre-application advice from Fife Council.

Timber Outbuildings
Lying within the garden wall are two timber buildings providing a practical store for garden machinery and next to the rear farm road lies a timber woodshed.

Planning Consents
Planning consents are in place for a garage building, extended conservatory and ancillary
accommodation.

LOT 2 – Field and Woodland
To the west of Carpow wood and pond is a grass field (formerly arable), classified as Grade 3.2 and 4.1 by the James Hutton Institute extending to some 10 acres and partly enclosed by a mature hedge. To the south side of this field is a newly planted woodland of two compartments extending to some 5 acres in total and divided by an access track. It was planted in 2016 under a European Woodland Creation Scheme but no obligations remain. The wood comprises native broadleaves including birch, hazel, hawthorn, oak and alder.

LOT 3 – Arable Field and Woodland
Lying to the south of Aytounhill House is an arable field, classified as Grade 3.2 by the James Hutton Institute, extending to some 30 acres and accessed directly off the principal drive. It is leased under a seasonal cropping licence to the neighbouring farmer. A woodland of about 15 acres lies beyond.

EPC Rating = D