The Old Manse at Farleyer and its accompanying steading are beautiful homes surrounded by Highland Perthshire’s finest scenery.
On the edge of the historic village of Dull – famously twinned with Boring in the USA and Bland in Australia – their elevated position gives them outstanding views over the area’s majestic mountain ranges.
The beautiful town of Aberfeldy is just four miles away and has a supermarket, shops, cafes, pubs and a cinema.
The B listed former manse was designed by the ecclesiastical architect James Laing and sits at the end of a long private driveway. Both it and the steading are traditionally built, with stone walls and slate roofs.
For the past 12 years they have been owned by John Sievright and Martin Gilbert, who have used them as a base for themselves and as highly popular holiday rental properties. The businessmen met at school in Aberdeen and have been friends for more than 50 years.
Both had stellar careers in the finance sector, with John becoming CEO of Merrill Lynch and Martin becoming vice-chairman of Standard Life Aberdeen and co-founding Aberdeen Asset Management.
John says: “We were inseparable through school and university then both had quite successful careers. When I was at Merrill Lynch, Martin got in touch with me and we discovered the friendship was still there.”
The two men are keen fly fishermen and decided to jointly buy a property in Highland Perthshire they could both enjoy the use of.
Property auction
They spotted the Old Manse at Farleyer on a property auction website. It was being sold after being repossessed by the bank and the pair decided to bid for it.
“Ours was the winning bid but we didn’t get it by much,” John explains. “Then it turned out the bank didn’t own the steading. The previous owners had split the title deeds and got a separate mortgage on the steading.
“We didn’t want to lose both properties so we went back to renegotiate the price of the house and try to negotiate the purchase of the steading. About a year after we bought the house we managed to secure the steading as well.”
While the steading was in fairly good condition the house was not. “It was a bit of a catastrophe,” John continues.
“They had forgotten to drain down the radiators and water had flooded the house, causing the kitchen ceiling to collapse. Several windows were broken and there were vines growing inside the house.
“We remodelled the main house, adding an extra en suite bedroom. We removed the back stairs to create a much bigger kitchen. I think there was one downstairs toilet that we didn’t change. Everything else in the house is brand new.”
Exploring inside the Old Manse of Farleyer
The ground floor is entered through a large front door leading into a vestibule. Off the main hall are two large reception rooms, a sitting room and a dining room. Both rooms have twin aspect windows to let in plenty of light, and fantastic southerly views across the valley.
The dining kitchen and has modern appliances, an Aga and plenty of space for table and chairs.
To the rear of the house is a boot room with various ancillary rooms off – a pantry, store, utility room, boiler room and WC.
The principal bedroom faces to the front to take full advantage of the outlook. It has an en suite with bath and walk-in shower. There are four more double bedrooms – two with en suite shower rooms – and a family bathroom. Adjacent to the main house is a detached stone-built triple garage.
Farleyer Steading
Behind the Old Manse and separated by a stone wall and screen of trees is Farleyer Steading. This lovely single storey building has a fantastic open plan reception room at its heart.
A vaulted, timber lined ceiling with oak beams and wrought iron chandeliers make the great hall an incredibly impressive space.
More than 12.5 metres long, it has a kitchen at one end and a living area at the other. A dining area in between is currently occupied by a snooker table.
The two wings of Farleyer Steading each hold a double bedroom, both with their own dressing room and shower rooms.
The grounds at The Old Manse at Farleyer and Farleyer Steading extend to around two acres. There’s a sweeping, tree lined drive, extensive parking outside both properties, large expanses of lawn and lots of mature trees – one of which is home to a family of red squirrels.
The location is what first drew John, 68, and Martin, 68, to the Old Manse at Farleyer.
“We absolutely love it there,” John says. “We own a fishing beat nearby that you can walk to from the house. A day of fishing with a bbq then you can stroll back to the house and enjoy a dram or two.”
Time to sell
Although John is still on the board of several major companies, he isn’t in Scotland nearly as often and is mainly based in the Bahamas. “My parents are both gone and my wife lost her mother so we don’t have that family connection which was a reason for coming home,” he says.
“Martin and I have both found we’re not making nearly as much use of the house and steading as we would like to so we’ve decided to put it on the market.
“We’re in the fortunate position that we don’t need to sell. We would also potentially sell the house and keep the steading to use ourselves if someone only wanted to buy the house.
“Properties like this come up so seldom that sometimes I think we must be mad to be selling it.”
Whoever buys the Old Manse at Farleyer could use the house as their home and the steading as a holiday let, or vice versa. Or both properties could continue to be used as very successful holiday lets.
“The main house sleeps 10 and the steading sleeps four,” John says. “We get nothing but positive feedback from guests and we’re fully booked for months in advance.
“The tranquillity, the scenery and the wildlife are all absolutely splendid.”
The Old Manse at Farleyer, Aberfeldy is on sale with Galbraith for offers over £1.4 million.
