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Hurlford, Ayrshire, Scotland
Hurlford, Ayrshire, Scotland
Number of guests
Sleeps up to 22
Property description
Carnell is a beautiful, solid mansion house, parts of which date back to the 16th century. It is surrounded by extensive gardens and parkland and has been tastefully modernised. Rooms are big, light and quietly colourful, with plenty of thick Oriental rugs and carpets, open fires, antique furnishings and fresh flowers.
Carnell is an ideal venue for weddings, and all types of private parties and conferences. Michael Findlay and his wife Deborah are only too delighted to host events, and tailor short breaks around golf, shooting, birthday parties and anniversaries, with a whole range of activities to cater for most tastes. Alternatively the house can be let on a purely private basis. The Estate has been used by various film companies too.
Location
Carnell stands in gorgeous gardens, with lawns, flower-filled herbaceous borders, a walled garden and wilder pond areas reminiscent of a Monet painting. The whole estate is on the Kilmarnock-Ayr road, a quiet, low-key A road. The nearest village is Hurlford, two or three miles away.
Accommodation
Carnell has eleven elegant bedrooms, either doubles or twins and most of them en suite. The rooms are spacious yet cosy, each one individually decorated, hence the Pink Room, the Yellow Room, the Attic Bedroom and the Master Bedroom with its wooden four poster. Guests can expect to find every comfort including bathrobes, toiletries, tea and coffee-making facilities and telephones in all the rooms.
There are plenty of lounging areas for a large group of guests, two halls with open fires, and a large, airy drawing room with floor-to-ceiling windows.
The rental price, on a per-night basis, includes breakfast and an excellent three-course dinner. There is a full-time staff in the house and, wherever possible, produce from the estate is used for cooking, including lamb, beef, game, salmon, and fresh fruit and vegetables. Seafood is available daily from Ayr Market.
Large groups have a choice of two dining areas, the elegant and traditional dining room which seats up to 40 at a long wooden table surrounded by oil paintings but with light, contemporary décor; and the Tower Room with a long rectangular oak table.
Menus are designed to suit your tastes. The staff like to use traditional Scottish cooking, but if this is not to your liking they will cook whatever is required. “Once you have savoured a meal at Carnell”, the owners claim, “you should feel that you have had an ample sufficiency, and that a further amount would be a super abundance for which you should have no capacity!”
Facilities
The house and its renowned gardens are perfectly suited to small business group conferences or weekend retreats. There is a squash court, a tennis court and a Billiard Room with a full size table. The estate has an established pheasant and partridge shoot of exceptionally high quality which is capable of producing 275 plus birds a day (loaders can be provided). Clay pigeon shoots, falconry, shooting lessons and archery can also be arranged. Children are extremely welcome. Sorry, no pets allowed.
Weddings are arranged with care, and with plenty of time between events so that parties do not feel they are on a “conveyor belt”. Some couples like to get married in the main house, others in the Garden Room.
Area
Carnell is a wonderful base for golf-lovers, being within striking distance of three International Championship Courses: Turnberry (30 miles), Prestwick (12 miles) and Royal Troon (12 miles). The famous courses of Loch Lomond, Muirfield and Gleneagles are all within a 90 minute drive.
There are plenty of alternative attractions for guests to visit beyond the estate, including The Burrell Collection of art in Glasgow, the shops and sights of Edinburgh and various castles like Culzean. Those with a car can enjoy the Robert Burns Trail. There are also boat trips available to Mull of Kintyre, the Isles of Arran and the Island of Gigha.
Carnell is only five or ten minutes from Kilmarnock and Ayr, both of which have good shops, supermarkets etc. The Craigie Inn, locally renowed for its excellent meals, is two miles away in the hamlet of Craigie. Scotland’s three main airports are within easy reach: Edinburgh (90 minutes), Glasgow (40 minutes) and Prestwick (20 minutes).
Prices
£185 per person per night (minimum 12 people).
Various lengths of stay can be arranged.
Contact the property owners
Phone: +44 01563-884236 (Michael Findlay)
Fax: +44 01563-884 407
Please note that you cannot rent this property directly from The Big Domain. If you wish to rent Carnell, or would like to enquire about availability, please click on the Contact the Property Owner button above, and use the form provided to contact the owner directly.
