The Orchard, Dyke, Forres, IV36 2TF

This wonderful house just ticks so many boxes of a dream home.  A large character home, over 3 floors with 3/4 double bedrooms, massive open plan living/kitchen/diner, sitting room, utility and boot room, a generous ground floor shower room, spacious family bathroom and a stunning attic room spanning the length and breadth of the house. Extensively renovated and upgraded and sitting in the most magnificent large, enclosed gardens, The Orchard is situated in the idyllic, semi-rural village of Dyke.

A superb family home, The Orchard has been tastefully renovated while maintaining the beautiful features that give it so much character.

The original front wooden storm doors lead to an inset door with a large oval glass pane which opens into a beautiful bright hall, with a lovely den area hidden away under the curving staircase. High ceilings and tall pitch pine doors throughout enhance the feeling of space and grandeur. The hallway provides access to the sitting room, dining/living/kitchen, shower room, cloakroom cupboard and the staircase.

To the front, the dual aspect sitting room has tall windows facing south and west, allowing light to stream in, with the woodburning stove making this a wonderfully welcoming room, in this unique house originally built as the former school master's home.

To the rear, the open plan lounge/kitchen/diner spans the width of the house with five tall windows ensuring it is light filled at any time of the day and looking out over the secluded side and rear gardens, with mature trees, shrubs and grass, that are visited by an abundance of birds and wildlife. The lounge area with a new eco efficient stove inset to the wall has room for a large corner sofa or could be used as a dining room with ample space for a large dining table. The original wooden floor has been left with the blackening that was commonly used, to contrast with the modern, white sleek kitchen units. A wide range of upper and lower white cabinets provides an immense amount of floor to ceiling storage with a central island providing further 3-metre-long countertop space and seating for up to six. The island includes an integrated Bosch induction 5 ring hob, oven and microwave/oven.  A large utility room to the side of the kitchen provides access to the rear garden and is a great space for shedding outdoor coats and boots. It houses the washing machine, tumble drier, condensing high efficiency boiler and a ceiling mounted clothes pulley to dry clothes in inclement weather.

The beautiful, curved staircase, with wooden balustrades, leads to the first floor, offering 3 bright double bedrooms, newly fitted family bathroom and linen cupboard. A further landing and staircase lead to the attic space. Far from the customary dull attics typical in character houses, the attic space is an incredible, light-filled, space. Recently completed, the attic has multiple Velux windows and blackout blinds and incredible views over the surrounding countryside. There is recessed lighting throughout and new carpets.  The irregular shape of the room makes this area a multi-purpose space with ample storage and the potential for further accommodation.

The Orchard also has planning permission in place to extend to the side and rear to provide a beautifully designed, contemporary, single storey wooden clad extension comprising of a glass link corridor, large additional reception room, pantry/office, utility room and boot room and new side entrance. These plans can be viewed on the Moray Council website under planning reference 22/01406/APP.

The gardens are fabulous, utopia for families with children and/or pets. The stone chip driveway has double gates to the front with ample parking for 3 - 4 cars. The front garden is primarily laid to lawn with mature shrubs and trees to the side. A newly installed wooden privacy fence, with gates at either side of the house, open to the fantastic rear garden, which is also bounded by the new wooden privacy fence. With areas of lawn, shrubs, mature bushes and fruit trees, (plum, cherry, apple and pear) the gardens extend to approximately a little under an acre. Patio areas by the house provide wonderful spaces for garden furniture, fire pits and pizza oven. Ample areas for poly tunnels, veg or fruit beds, play equipment or merely to relax in the privacy of your own grounds. For children, a gate opens to the school playing field, which has further adventure play equipment, and an enormous area for playing. The gate also leads to other walking areas around the village.  There are multiple useful stone and wooden outbuildings, which provide great spaces for storing outdoor equipment, wood for the woodburning stoves with ample opportunity to further convert one space to a home/garden office.

Room sizes:

Sitting room (4.0m x 3.4m)

Dining Kitchen (9.5m x 3.3m)

Utility (2.5m x 4.1m)

Shower room (2.4m x2.5m)

Bedroom 1 (4.0m x 3.5m)

Bedroom 2 (4.0m x 3.3m)

Bedroom 3 (4.1m x 3.3m)

Bathroom (2.4m x 3.7m)

Attic space (4.0m x 9.3m)

Dyke

Dyke is a lovely, traditional village, with a character primary school, active village hall, church and mixed age population. The primary school is highly acclaimed and seen as a typical, traditional small village school with only 92 pupils (approx.) and fantastic outdoor play areas. Sitting just a few miles from the market town of Forres, there are wonderful walks with Brodie Castle Estate and the Playful Garden just a few minutes away and 9,000 acres of Culbin Forest a short walk away. Walking through Culbin Forest one can access the gorgeous, white sandy beaches where seals abound.

Forres is a thriving small town in the northeast of Scotland. With an active high street offering butchers, bakers, cafes, gift shops, hairdressers, a tailor, post office and grocery shops, it continues to offer a wide selection of services. The town boasts large parks and woodland walks, having been placed, or won, the relevant section of Britain in Bloom on multiple occasions. Primary and secondary schooling is available in the town, with the Drumduan Steiner school offering alternative education and Gordonstoun private school a mere 11 miles away with transport available daily.

Healthcare is available in Forres with hospitals in Elgin (12 miles) and Inverness (26 miles). Transport links are excellent with a regular bus running between Aberdeen and Inverness, a train station also on the main line between Aberdeen and Inverness and airports in both Inverness and Aberdeen providing daily flights to domestic and international destinations.

Outdoor opportunities are incredible with the beautiful white sand beaches of Findhorn less than 5 miles away, offering sailing, paddleboarding and wild swimming, skiing is available in both The Lecht and Cairngorms, both less than an hour away, and endless opportunities for walking, biking, horse riding and hiking in the vast forest of Culbin.

Please note that all measurements and distances are approximate and provided for guidance only.