It's hard to imagine a more magical childhood than growing up on a safari park. Now a new family can seize this unique opportunity, as Auchingarrich Wildlife Park comes onto the market.
I’m reliably told that it is a rite of passage for all British children to visit Longleat Safari Park in Wiltshire, before they’re too old to enjoy a family holiday that doesn’t involve getting a tan. Having been raised by two staunch South Africans, I was fairly sceptical about the success of such parks – where were the herds of zebra, the close calls with charging rhinos, the lion-hyena showdowns?
One visit to the Cotswolds Wildlife Park with my very British flatmate, where we made friends with Monty the reading Rhino, set me straight. These havens for all creatures great and small are magical places, cherished by owners and visitors alike for good reason.
Now, the unique opportunity to take ownership of one of these special places is on the cards, with the addition of Auchingarrich Wildlife Park in the Perthshire hills to Scotland’s property market through Galbraith, price available on request.
Nestled in a beautiful valley on the outskirts of Comrie, the business has been run by the Scott family these past ten years. During their tenure, the park has seen many improvements, playing host to over 60,000 visitors a year and turning over an average of £585,000.
The park has a coffee shop (available for private hire and weddings as an additional source of income) two indoor play areas, an outdoor adventure playground (reliably far away from the lion enclosure), an array of exotic and native animal enclosures, a hatchery and animal feeding pens. Also in the vicinity are four fishing ponds (bait and fly-fishing), stocked with rainbow trout from Easter to mid-Autumn.
Thankfully, the new owners wont have to muck in with the monkeys, as the sale also includes Auchingarrich Farmhouse, a stone property located within the grounds, which extend to 131 acres. With five bedrooms, three receptions rooms and a separate study, the home has a good level of privacy, set in gorgeous grounds with a handsome garden overlooking a duck pond.
All in all, it’s a thriving business and an enchanting home. The agents also believe that there’s scope for further development to the property, with the addition of glamping pods or holiday chalets, if the owners wanted to move into stay-cation territory.
The current owners call it the perfect work-life balance. ‘The time has now come for us to retire and pass on Auchingarrich to its next set of enthusiastic owners,’ says Andrew Scott. ‘I’m sure they will enjoy living here as well as running this fun-filled family business as much as we did.’
So, will you be joining the Heyworths of the Cotswolds and the Weymouths of Longleat as the next family to own, and love, a British wildlife park? It would certainly make for a magical childhood.
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