Email Alexander House enquiries & reservations: bookscotland@madbookings.com
Other places to stay in and around
Auchterarder
Hidden
high in the Perthshire hills at the end of a farm track, this brand new
house gleams inside and out and is sustainability built.
Water is from a private bore hole, there is a ground source heat pump and a reclaimed Scottish slate roof.
Although Alexander House is often used as the private residence of the owner and her sister, Alexander House is available to rent as a holiday home for a limited number of weeks and weekends throughout the year.
Alexander House Accommodation
Sleeping up to 20 in 5 doubles, 2 twins and a bunk room for 4
children.
We also now welcome well behaved pets.
With indoor games room, outdoor hot tub, covered courtyard swimming pool,
croquet lawn, sunken trampoline, swings, slides and football pitch, there
is plenty to keep everyone of all ages happy.
Upstairs you have 7 en suite bedrooms and one bunk room
for 4 children. All the en suite bedrooms have 32 inch LCD TVs with FreeSat
and DVD/CD Player.
The house has been stunningly interior designed using some of the most
luxurious fabrics available and each bedroom is unique.
There are various options when renting Alexander House, you can either
rent the whole house with all the bedrooms or 2 bedroom areas can be shut
off from the main house, allowing for smaller parties in the 5 remaining
bedrooms at slightly reduced rates in low season periods.
Completed in 2009 Alexander House is brand new, built on the site of an
old ruined Steading. We hope it gives you the best of both worlds, all
the comforts of modern living with a feel of the elegance of a bygone
era.
It is our family holiday home and we hope you enjoy staying here as much
as we do.
We have tried our very best to bring sustainable products into both the
house and the building itself. Superthick walls mean that the house is
very well insulated, the Ground Source Heat Pump, fed by our very own
borehole provides heating for the house, pool and hot water.
Our showers are a mix of air and water which reduces hot water usage and energy, but we think they feel just wonderful.
Living:
Walking in through the stone-clad porch with the inscription ‘I
to the hills will lift mine eyes’, you see the dining hall with
a centre table seating 16-20. The first of two spiral staircases to the
2nd floor.
Through double doors from the dining hall is the drawing room with warming
open fire and ample comfy seating. A beautiful bay window gives you views
for miles across the Strath.
At the heart of the house there is a vast, brilliantly light living space encased in glass doors and windows: a 14-seat pine table in the centre still leaves acres of space to curl up on huge tan leather sofas. Lounge on beanbags, cook in the open plan extravaganza of a kitchen (Le Creuset, a range cooker, espresso and ice machines, the full works).
Out on the terrace is a barbecue, plus swings, a slide and trampoline.
Off the kitchen is a separate laundry room with downstairs cloakroom,
shower and drying cupboard, washing machine and tumble dryer with a storage
area for coats, boots, hats etc. The second circular staircase to the
first floor is off the laundry room.
A door leads to the outdoor hottub for 4.
Another door from the utility room leads into the snooker and games room
with ¾ size snooker table and darts board.
Another door leads from the games room to the courtyard with covered heated
swimming pool. (It’s the dome just visible under the snow!).
Playing:
The hot-tub is wonderful for relaxing and enjoying the views, whilst there
is a separate games room with snooker table and darts board. The living
room has a selection of traditional books and games and there are 2 PS2
consoles at the house with plenty of games.
4 acres of grounds means there is space for everyone. The horses in the
surrounding fields will belong to Katie, our resident caretaker and a
university lecturer at Stirling.
The front terrace has glorious views to the East, West and North and outside
there is plenty for the children to do.
Swings, slides and a trampoline are ideal for younger children and the
football and croquet pitches can be enjoyed by all ages (football and
croquet summer only – quite often the pitches are under the snow!).
The outdoor hot tub just a couple of steps away from the utility room
door comfortably seats 4 and has glorious views across the Strath, to
the Sidlaw hills and to Crieff, the gateway to the Highlands.
The back courtyard has a heated swimming pool with retractable cover and
a sheltered barbeque and seating area.
From the back door there is some of the most lovely hill walking directly
onto the heather hill. Our local farmshop which sells all the basics as
well as fresh meat reared on the farm is also only a sensible walk away.
Gails biscuits and cakes are legendary in the area!
We are really sorry but you cannot actually get married in Alexander House
itself, we do not hold a wedding license and Alexander House is a private
residence.
However Tullibardine Chapel, St Kessogs Church, Inner Peffrey Library and Chapel and Auchterarder Parish Church are all within easy reach and you are more than welcome to rent Alexander House as your exclusive family accommodation for the week or weekend of your big day.
Our dining hall seats 20 in comfort and is ideal for
intimate gatherings and family get togethers.
Yes, we would have loved to restore the old steading but as you can see
it had gone beyond its practical life!
So, after taking the pragmatic view to replace the existing, Robert Adam
was commissioned to design a new house for the site and a new house needed
a new name. Alexander House was born.
In and around our new house we have tried to incorporate energy saving
measures where ever possible, using natural, sustainable materials that
will stand the test of time.
We want this house to be here for generations to come to enjoy, love
and cherish. After all it is not often that you get the chance to design,
build and share your dream house!
Throughout the fabric of the house we have tried wherever possible to
use sustainability produced, natural materials.
The house itself is of clay block construction, with external timber insulation and a natural lime render finish, timber inside is from sustainable sources, finishes are eco–friendly and wherever possible we have low watt bulbs, some with 7 year bulb guarantees. Our walls are 550mm thick and when the heating was turned off by accident it took 3 days for anyone to notice, it holds the heat so well.
The slates on the roofs are reclaimed Scottish Ballachulish slates and gravels and stone have been provided by our local quarry just 3 miles away. Even our road has been topped with tar planings, the leftovers from road repairs around the county (occasionally there’s even a random cats-eye peeping out!).
Our furnishings are from recycled materials, antiques
or simply those that other people no longer needed. We have spent hours
sourcing just the right second-hand item to fit the house. Our kitchen
table is hand made from reclaimed table legs and pine boards and our dining
hall furniture has been handbuilt to last for generations to come.
We are also avid subscribers to freecycle and when we no longer need something
at the house it is put on freecycle for others to use.
All our under-floor heating and hot water are provided
by a Ground Source Heat Pump which also heats the swimming pool and our
showers mix water and air to reduce their hot water and therefore energy
consumption. This in turn is supplied by water from our very own borehole
onsite. As our Scottish water is 'soft' it is nice to drink, kind to kettles
and needs much less soap for washing.
Everything possible is recycled, or composted. Open fires supplied with
sustainability grown timber from the house grounds add to the cosy atmosphere,
but also help our carbon footprint and reduce the heating required in
those rooms.
Even our cleaning products and bathroom guest products are organic and eco from our friends at Love the Planet, and our loos are low water usage.
Alexander House Activities
Horse riding, falconry, shooting school, restaurants, quad biking, fishing
and claypigeon shooting are all available nearby either at Gleneagles
Hotel or elsewhere.
Active Perthshire can organise multi-day activities over a range of 35
different options.
There is also the Snodome in Glasgow at Xscape where there is also a whole
range of other indoor activities, just under an hour away - xscape.co.uk
Golf is also everywhere in Perthshire! With a total of 40 golf courses
in the area you are spoilt for choice. With a Perthshire Green Card giving
you access to 19 of the 18 hole courses for just £99 for 5 rounds
or £65 for 3 it's good value too.
Whisky and Castles:
Perthshire has become almost synonymous with whisky and castles. Scotland
's smallest distillery (Edradour in Pitlochry) is an hour away and its
oldest (Glenturret at Crieff, now featuring The Famous Grouse Experience)
is only 20 minutes away. Also notable are Blair Athol, the Dewars World
of Whisky Centre and distillery in Aberfeldy, and Dalwhinnie a little
further north.
All featuring excellent visitor centres and plenty of free samples!
And as for castles, Blair Castle, reputedly Scotland's finest is a day
out in itself, with Castle Menzies at Aberfeldy, the magnificent Scone
Palace on the outskirts of Perth, and home to Perth Races, are all a must
visit!
Stirling Castle, home to the Kings of Scotland is just 20 minutes away
and Edinburgh is just an hour away. Both can be reached by train from
Alexander House.
Another fabulous day out is to Loch Leven where Mary Queen of Scots was
imprisoned by her sister Elizabeth in the now ruined castle in the middle
of the loch, which is only accessible only by boat.
Edinburgh:
Edinburgh is a vibrant city that combines the best of classical architecture
with a lively and exciting arts community. For more information visit
edinburgh.org.
Glasgow:
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland with an amazing industrial history,
huge public buildings from its industrial golden age and museums to rival
any in the world, including the world famed Rennie Mackintosh museum.
All electrical items in the house have been chosen for their energy efficiency
and there are lines for drying clothes outside and a pulley to dry clothes
inside, although we do have a tumble dryer and drying cabinet because
we understand that boots etc won’t fit on a pulley rack!
We encourage our guests to buy locally from our local farmshop, just a
mile down the hill as the crow flies and our welcome packs are provided
by Gail at the Farmshop.
The only fuels we use on site are logs, electricity and gas. The gas is
just for the cookers and we monitor its usage and our electricity usage
carefully. Everything we can do to minimise our use is looked at and we
have also received planning permission for a new 15kw wind turbine to
supply us our electricity and we are looking at a micro hydro scheme to
see if we can become utterly independent of our grid supply. This will
be installed when budget allows.
Our Green Credentials
At Alexander House we are committed to working in a sustainable way. We
do our best to minimise our impact on the environment wherever possible.
· We comply with the requirements of environmental legislation
and approved codes of practice
· We continuously seek to improve our environmental and social
performance
· We reduce pollution, emissions and waste
· We raise awareness, encourage participation and train employees
in sustainable business practices
· We expect similar environmental standards from our suppliers
and contractors
· We assist customers to use products and services in an environmentally
friendly way
· We have minimised our risks associated with social and environmental
issues
· We have joined the Green Tourism Business Scheme as an indicator
of our sustainable practices
Getting there:
One of the wonderful things about our location is that you can get here
by just about any method of transport.
Plane:
Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee are all less than an hour away.
Train:
Gleneagles Station is 10 minutes by car.
There is a fabulous direct train service from London Kings Cross to Gleneagles
Train Station in 5 ½ hours, or even the overnight Caledonian Sleeper
from London Euston. Edinburgh and Glasgow are approx 45 mins by train
and Stirling and Perth just 20 mins.
Automobile:
We are 3 miles off the main A9 road North (or South!) just outside the
town of Auchterarder. A 4x4 is useful year round, and totally necessary
in snow, however a parking area is provided at the base of the drive for
particularly cold periods and we suggest you hire an ATV for particularly
snowy/icy conditions.
Directions:
From the main A9 take the Gleneagles exit. At the top of the slip road
turn right towards Glendevon and away from Gleneagles. After approximately
1 mile take the turning on the left signposted Duchally House Hotel. About
2 miles from the turn off you will see a road off to the right, leading
away up the hill. You will find the AH logo on trees to direct you up
the 1 mile long driveway.
Please remember to close all gates that you open, this is a working estate
with livestock in the fields. The gates are kept locked and are only accessible
to guests vehicles.
Address: Alexander House, Auchterarder, Perthshire, PH3 1PR, Scotland.
Perthshire is home to some of Scotland’s most stunning scenery,
ranging from the domestic farmlands of Strathtay, the Highlands behind
Crieff and Aberfeldy, to the ancient granite ochils on which Alexander
House sits.
Email Alexander House enquiries & reservations: bookscotland@madbookings.com
