Some days are so cold, gloomy and damp that it's hard to remember a time when you ever felt that delicious, warm tang of sunshine on your skin.
Other days are so deeply blue and irrepressibly sunny that the very idea it'll ever rain again seems ludicrous. And we'll admit that these images of Porta Leacach House, on the Isle of Arran, were taken on one of these latter days; and we'll also admit that this dot on the map in the Firth of Clyde doesn't always enjoy tropical conditions.
Yet since when does anyone buy a house thinking about how it'll be at its worst? Instead, let's focus on the joys of this five-bedroom family home, set in 32 acres of land, and for sale via Savills at a price which will make city dwellers weep: £650,000.
The house sites on the southern tip of Arran on the edge of a village named Kildonan, a tiny place which has a sandy beach, a castle, shop, post office and a hotel, as well as views back to the mainland and to the striking Pladda lighthouse.
Porta Leacach House itself dates to 1896, a traditional Scottish farmhouse that has been very nicely refurbished. The kitchen in particular is exactly what you'd hope to see in this sort of property, with dark blue Aga, island and plenty of space for a dining table.
The living rooms are arranged at the front of the house to make the most of the splendid views out to sea, while off to one side of the dining room is a study.
The land that comes with the house is a mixture of well-kept lawn and wilder areas, as well as a fruit and vegetable patch. And, of course, your own private stretch of coastline.
There's a West-facing patio too, plus a number of outbuildings — one of which, a crumbling old steading, might potentially be restored an used as a holiday let.
We'd imagine that such a place could do very well indeed; after all, one look at the picture above and pretty much anyone would be convinced of the charms of this spot as a place for a holiday.
Porta Leacach House is for sale via Savills at £650,000 — see more details and pictures.
-
The big reveal: A first look at Country Life's RHS Chelsea Flower Show standInterior designer Isabella Worsley reveals her plans for Country Life’s ‘outdoor drawing room’ at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
-
Schreiber House, 'the most significant London townhouse of the second half of the 20th century', is up for saleThe five-bedroom Modernist masterpiece sits on the edge of Hampstead Heath.
-
Schreiber House, 'the most significant London townhouse of the second half of the 20th century', is up for sale
The five-bedroom Modernist masterpiece sits on the edge of Hampstead Heath.
-
London is the place for me* (*the discerning property buyer)With more buyers looking at London than anywhere else, is the 'race for space' finally over?
-
What's a 'wellness village' and will it tempt you back into the office?The team behind London's first mixed-use ‘wellness village’ says it has the magic formula for tempting workers back into offices.
-
A mini estate in Kent that's so lovely it once featured in Simon Schama's 'History of Britain'The Paper Mill estate is a picture-postcard in the Garden of England.
-
Hidden excellence in a £7.5 million north London homeBehind the traditional façades of Provost Road, you will find something very special.
-
Sip tea and laugh at your neighbours in this seaside Norfolk home with a watchtowerOn Cliff Hill in Gorleston, one home is taller than all the others. It could be yours.
-
A Grecian masterpiece that might be one of the nation's finest homes comes up for sale in KentGrade I-listed Holwood House sits in 40 acres of private parkland just 15 miles from central London. It is spectacular.
-
Some of the finest landscapes in the North of England with a 12-bedroom home attachedUpper House in Derbyshire shows why the Kinder landscape was worth fighting for.
