Blackhillock is situated within the Cairngorms National Park in a delightful unspoilt glen with views to the ruined Glenbuchat Castle.

The property extends to just over 194 acres and is offered for sale as a whole or in 4 lots or in any combination of lots. Blackhillock offers a great opportunity; with farmland, traditional and modern buildings and a fantastic site.

The property is approached from the minor Glen road up a farm track.

Lot 1: Blackhillock Farm About 52.9 acres (21.4 ha) Offers over £360,000

The farm has a south facing aspect and the refurbished traditional farmhouse provides comfortable family accommodation on two levels.

The farm has been run in hand with a mixture of cattle and sheep and growing some fodder. There are two good portal frame buildings suitable for a variety of uses.

The house is built of stone under a slate roof and was modernised in 2008. There is an open plan sitting/dining area with an opening through to the triple aspect kitchen with a black limestone floor and under floor heating throughout the ground floor. Also on the ground floor are a bedroom and the main family bathroom. The first floor includes two bedrooms and a cloakroom. The house benefits from a new ground source heat pump and is double glazed. There is a new shed, 5.75m x 3.53m, housing the water filters and heat pump.

Outbuildings The farm buildings are both modern and traditional. The traditional buildings include a former mill and a bothy which has been refurbished for use as an office; it includes a wood stove and attic storage space.

Mill: Barn 12.0m x 4.9m Byre 7.2m x 4.9m, cobbled floor Cart shed 5.1m x 4.7m Re-floored loft over part 15.6m x 4.9m Bothy 5.58m x 4.27m Loft 5.4m x 3.6m

The modern buildings comprise: General purpose shed 24m x 17m 4 bays, steel portal frame, block walls and concrete floor. Cattle court 18m x 26.5m Steel portal frame with central feed pass and calf creeps. Part is a raised storage area. Adjacent to the cattle court is a cattle handling facility with 3 holding pens, a curved collecting race and a Pearson squeeze crush.

The Land Included in Lot 1 will be three field parcels extending to 52.9 acres (21.4 ha), of which 21 acres is arable, 29.4 acres rough grazing and 2.5 acres woodland. Of the rough grazing, Field 15 is wetland.

The ground source heat pipes are buried in Field 9.

Included in Lot 1 is a mature Scots pine wood extending to about 0.78ha.

Lot 2: Drumnagarrow Site About 48.5 acres (19.6 ha) UNDER OFFER

A quite exceptional site with a panoramic outlook over the Cairngorms.

The traditional cottage has one of the prime south facing locations in the park, at an elevation of circa 350m above sea-level.

Planning approval was granted in 2011 (ref APP/2011/4151) to convert and extend the traditional cottage into a unique hilltop house comprising:

Kitchen/Dining/Living area (S&E) 11.5m x 5.3m, with veranda in front and patio doors Utility room (N) 3.87 x 2.9m Cloakroom Bedroom 1 (S&N) 4.14m x 4.21m With ensuite 1.45m x 3.0m Bedroom 2 (N) 3.65m x 4.21m Bedroom 3 (S) 3.41m x 4.1m Bedroom 4 (S) 4.09m x 4.09m Family bathroom 3.06m x 2.56m Passage 1.43m x 11m To give a total floor area of about 164m².

The proposed new house is to have a very modern extension to complement the traditional cottage. The new roof is to be zinc with timber cladding finish. Access can either be taken through Lot 3 or via a separate access through the adjacent farm, Milton of Glenbuchat, along the track A – B on the sale plan.

To the rear of the cottage are the roofless remains of what was a very extensive farm steading.

It is proposed to include in the sale of Lot 2 some 48 acres of mostly pasture fields, numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4 on the sale plan. This will protect the outlook and immediate fields around the site, which are currently all in grass. Field 3 is rough grazing and part has been planted to provide some shelter to the house

It is proposed that a buyer will install a new water supply/borehole in Field 11 and a right will be reserved over Lot 3 to achieve this. Electricity will have to be introduced (if required) from Field 6.

Lot 3: Four Fields About 78.8 acres (31.9ha) UNDER OFFER

Three fields are in pasture, whilst one is rough grazing. Field 6 is adjacent to the minor Glen public road, whilst access can be taken through this field to Fields 7 and 10 which adjoin. An electric line crosses Lot 3.

These fields could be part of Lot 1 or Lot 2 or standalone.

Lot 4: Haugh Fields About 14.2 acres (6.2 ha) Offers over £55,000

Three fields, numbers 5, 8 and 13, lying between the glen road and the Water of Buchat. These fields could be part of Lot 1 or Lot 3 or standalone.

Health and Safety Given the potential hazards of a working farm, we ask you to be as vigilant as possible when making your inspection for your own personal safety, particularly around the farm buildings.

This property has 67.1 acres of land.

Situation

Blackhillock is located in picturesque Glenbuchat in the Strathdon valley. On the edge of the Grampian Mountains, the relatively unknown glen is remarkably beautiful and unspoilt. The area is famed for the annual Lonach Gathering which takes place on the fourth Saturday in August.

Alford is the nearest principal town and provides a range of amenities including a variety of shopping facilities, primary and secondary schooling, library, health centre, swimming pool, 18-hole golf course, two museums and regular public transport to and from Aberdeen. The nearest primary school is at Towie which is 5 miles distant.

The range of amenities available in the area is considerable, with a number of golf courses, hill walking, climbing and skiing at the Lecht.

More comprehensive facilities are available in Aberdeen, the ‘Oil Capital of Europe’, which provides all the recreational, entertainment, educational and cultural facilities one would expect of a large city. Aberdeen has an international airport with an ever increasing range of domestic and European flights and regular inter-city services provided from Aberdeen railway station.

Directions

Travelling from Aberdeen take the A944 west to Alford. At Bridge of Alford cross the River Don and continue on the A944. At its junction with the A97 turn left onto the road signposted Strathdon and Tomintoul. Continue along this road for approximately 8 miles and turn right at the sign for Glenbuchat. Continue up the Glen and Blackhillock is on the right after about 1 mile.

Health and Safety Given the potential hazards of a working farm, we ask you to be as vigilant as possible when making your inspection for your own personal safety, particularly around the farm buildings.