Mid-Dlaziel Farmhouse, Dalcross, offers over £335,000
'Mid Dalziel Farmhouse is situated close to the shores of the Moray Firth near the delightful hamlet of Dalcross which is nestled between Inverness and Ardersier. Around 3 miles from Inverness Airport and 7 miles from Inverness city, Mid Dalziel Farmhouse enjoys an easily accessible rural setting with a picturesque countryside outlook.'
We had seen this a little earlier in the search process but dismissed it because of it's proximity to the airport. Get the anorak out: the runway at Inverness runs South West to North East and with a predominantly South Westerly wind, planes will be taking off over this house. We may be wrong (we didn't go and sit at the end of the runway for a day plane spotting - although John would have loved this!), but we think research like that can help avoid running around all over the place viewing unsuitable properties.
Google maps also revealed something odd at the back of the property which looked like a massive stash of plastic covered with hay bales. Again - alarm bells ringing that when you overlook farm land, you don't necessarily control what is on the farm land. You can just see the heap on the below photo, looks like a shadow, behind that enticing looking steading building, which of course was the bonus of this house.
Mid Dalziel Farmhouse is likely to date from around 1900, and does requires some attention and upgrades in areas, but I loved the split level landings inside, giving it a quirky and interesting internal layout. And it comes with about 0.93 acres within a walled garden.
The surrounding countryside is unspoilt and varied from beaches and harbours to woodland and dramatic mountain ranges. There is also an abundance of native wildlife.
This is the inside of the steading. The roof looks good, but you can't really tell until you get there. There is a definite leak which you can tell from all the green on the walls, and this gives rise to the possibility that at least some of the roof beams are rotten. But look at that space! High ceiling, open plan, looks like a flat concrete floor: very usable.
So, on balance, we decided to give it another look as I kept being drawn back to it over the 8 weeks it had been on the market. The view was nice, it was down a quiet lane, the barn conversion was promising, and hey, we live on a light path right now and it doesn't bother us. We researched flight numbers and times of day from Inverness and it wasn't crazy. The thought of the fumes from aeroplane fuel wasn't appealing, but maybe if the farmer was amenable to moving the silage mound then it would be a good project for not a lot of money for what it was...
Amazing coincidence though - when we rang to enquire about it an offer had just been accepted . And, my first thought was: is it because we are English?
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