A sculpture of a stag, a ‘secret garden’, an immaculately-kept park home estate with fantastic countryside views – and the coast just three miles away… Cunninghamhead Estate is a very enticing place

Crab pots are piled up against the harbour wall. Pretty cottagey buildings line the edge of the harbour. There’s a good choice of coffee cafés and eateries. A handful of fishing vessels wait for the next tide. On the day of our visit the wide harbour and the sea beyond it are glass-calm...

This is Irvine, a quiet, enchanting, ancient port on the Ayrshire coast. Incidentally, it now houses the main site of the Scottish Maritime Museum, located in a former shipyard, and  the Harbour Arts Centre. Even on the rainy day of our trip, Irvine has charm.

Up and down the coast, beaches stretch in both directions. Troon is a few miles south along the coast. Bill Laird, of Laird Estates, tells me there is a renowned seafood restaurant and fish and chip shop, quaintly called Wee Hurrie, on the edge of the harbour there but right now it’s not a mealtime. Laird Estates is the reason we are here, to explore, if only briefly, the region close to Cunninghamhead Estate, a park home estate three miles from tranquil, delightful Irvine.

The entrance to the estate has an air of grandeur, a long driveway at the top of which stands a lifesized metal sculpture of a stag, majestically looking out over open fields.

The estate is immaculate. Shrubs, patios, neat grass frontages to the homes which are a variety of shades and types, most of the gardens created with quite a lot of imagination, all come together to give the estate a character. The rain doesn’t abate on the day of our visit but the park nonetheless looks lovely.

Cunnninghamhead has held David Bellamy Gold Award status in recognition of conservation for nine years. It’s been a part of the Laird Estates group of parks for 16 years, Bill Laird explains as we walk along a path on the perimeter; a delightful stroll. The land slopes away from the park down to a stream here. This land will eventually be a new Laird estate, called Bluebell Park. Homes will be arranged on several levels, tiered down towards the stream, so that all will benefit from the views.

Cunninghamhead and Bluebell Parks together extend to 20 acres. Work is scheduled to begin creating Bluebell Park next year; there will be 35 new homes here – 35 opportunities to live in this beautiful, quiet location yet close to all that you need – and the beaches…

Easymove Part Exchange Scheme

I wanted to know how easy it is to buy a park home at Cunninghamhead and Bluebell Parks. Bill Laird explains: “We have a part exchange scheme in place. This is how we make moves happened for people – easily and without hassle or delay.

“The Scottish home purchasing system involves getting a Home Buyer’s Report. We take care of that; it’s the equivalent of a survey and valuation in England.

“In Scotland we can give 100% of market value. (In England it’s 97% because we have to take into account Stamp Duty, which has risen by 3%.) We set the completion date and can give purchasers an extra week in the property they are selling, to make the moving process easy.”

As we walk and talk our way around the neat cul-de-sacs of homes, some with outstanding views across the beautiful countryside that surrounds Cunninghamhead and Bluebell Parks, I’m intrigued by the high, ancient stone wall that runs around part of the perimeter and along the back of some of the gardens, a reminder that Cunninghamhead has a long history. The name dates to the early 1400s. There was once a castle here, then a manor house (only the gatehouse remains).

Then I notice a small door in the wall. It bears a surname. Mysterious, secret, enchanting… Bill explains: “That leads directly into one of the gardens of the park homes.” Someone’s very own Secret Garden… My thoughts zoom to the children’s classic novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett first published in 1911, but then back firmly to reality; this enclave, with just enough mystery to stir the imagination, seems to sum up Cunninghamhead – a park with an intriguing history, a very smart present and a future, in neighbouring Bluebell Park, that will give more people opportunity to buy a slice of this captivating location.

Before we leave we make another little discovery. In a former office there’s a library. Hundreds of books are there to be picked up, read and returned. We can’t help wondering if there’s a copy of the Secret Garden here…

From literature to lunch, we’re snapped back to the present day as we drive the short distance to Irvine in search of sandwiches.

There’s much more to Irvine than crab pots and coffee places, we find. We quickly discover a plethora of retail convenience –  retail parks full of all manner of out-of-town shopping including supermarkets. This region, we decide, would be a great place to live. Next time? We really ought to explore the elegance of Ayr, just 16 miles away, more of those enticing beaches where seals are often seen, and almost inevitably, the fish and chips at Troon. And for city attraction? Glasgow is only 25 minutes from here.

Contact
Laird Estates
lairdestates.co.uk
01630 638285