A luxury three-bedroom family home on the Isle of Harris can be yours for the week for £1,950.
Baile An Or at Ardslave is the “dream home” of an Aberdeenshire family with links to the island, but when they are not using it they rent it out to others.
An unusual blue hare marking the way to the house from the roadside has already become a landmark.
The house sits on the shore some nine miles south of Tarbert.
It is owned by accountant and tax consultant Steven Mearns and his wife Laura, an estate agent and house-letting specialist.
The eagle-eyed among you will recognise Mighty Munro as one of the hares from the 2023 Big Hop Trail at Inverurie in Aberdeenshire.
The hare was initially sponsored by Northwood Estate Agency in Aberdeen, a company run by Mrs Mearns.
Mr Mearns said: “It has been a dream of mine to have a home on Harris.
“I have been visiting the island since I was a child, as my great-grandfather was from Leverburgh on the west coast.
“The building of Baile An Or was that it is very much a home for us. So we have built it for our family.
‘It’s our Harris family home’
“We are not in the position to move to the island just yet as our family are at different stages of school.
“So for now while the children grow up we are going to rent out the house when we or our family are not using it, so that others can enjoy what we have created.”
Baile An Or was designed by architect Ian MacDonald and built by Roy Grant.
It is an “upside-down” build with bedrooms and a utility room all on the lower floor of the house.
On the upper floor, there is an open-plan living area with panoramic views all around the peninsula.
Mr Mearns continued: “We bought the plot of land for the house about seven years ago from our neighbours.
“The build was thankfully easy, as we have friends in Aboyne who are builders.
“We hired the builder’s team and they stayed locally on Harris while they built the house.
“People in Aboyne must have been a bit put out that the trades were all on Harris for the length of the project, it took a few months.”
Harris big part of Mearns family’s life
Mr Mearns, who has businesses in Inverurie, Aberdeen and Banchory, has even extended his business on Harris. He said: “I have opened a branch of my business, Tax Assist Accountants, on the island, albeit in the garden by the house.
“We already have three island clients.
“So I can now say we have branches in Rosemount, Inverurie and now Harris.
“It is all building the future for us as a family on the island.”
To hire Baile An Or it costs from £1,950 in low season and up to £2,450 a week in the summer months, with a £100 discount for staying for two weeks.
To rent the house, visit the house website here.
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