Perthshire butcher Simon Howie has put his imposing and spacious Victorian farmhouse at Fearn, Tain in Easter Ross on the market – and at offers over £750,000, it’s well worth a butcher’s – particularly as a year’s supply of sausages can be negotiated within the sale price.

Allan House is situated 33 miles northeast of Inverness in Easter Ross in the Tarbat Peninsula. Scotland’s oldest burgh of Tain is located 4.5 miles to the north and the house is 1.5 miles southwest of the village of Hill of Fearn.

Approached by a driveway flanked by mature deciduous trees, this is an attractive Victorian farmhouse.

Michael Jones at estate agents Knight Frank said: “The rooms are well proportioned and include three reception rooms, a large dining kitchen with Aga, office and utility room. Features of the ground floor include the cornicing, pitch pine floors, the bay windows, cast iron radiators and oak banister staircase with impressive cupola.


“On the first floor there is a principal bedroom suite with a further six bedrooms and two bathrooms. Externally, features of the house include the stone carved finals and lintels above the windows.

“With a gravelled parking area in front of Allan House, there is a large garage with a games room attached to the rear of the property. To the west there is a small patio area and greenhouse. The gardens are a particular feature. Mature lime trees and rhododendrons create an avenue effect to the east of the house, with well maintained lawns in front and to the side with herbaceous borders.”

Hill of Fearn village has a primary school, post office and railway station. The nearby town of Tain provides further services, including a butcher, fishmonger, chemist, banks and a choice of leisure facilities. There are two primary schools, Craighill and Knockbreck, and a secondary school, Tain Royal Academy. The A9 provides excellent links to Inverness and Inverness Airport with regular domestic and European flights.

The surrounding area provides plenty of recreational activities, including stalking and shooting on nearby estates. For fly fishermen, the Rivers Conon, Beauly, Oykel, Alness, Shin and Carron provide exciting salmon fishing, while the nearby Loch Eye provides some of the best wild brown trout fishing in the country.

Mr Jones said: “Within a ten-minute drive you can be on the beautiful, clean, sandy beaches of Shandwick Bay, while the fishing village of Portmahomack offers boat trips for sea angling and dolphin watching in the Moray Firth. For the golf enthusiast there are seven excellent golf courses within easy reach, including the famous championship course at the Royal Dornoch.”

(GK/KMcA)