Located close to the border of the historic counties of Stirlingshire and Dunbartonshire, Melville Lodge is a handsome detached country property restored to a high standard in the traditional Scottish style typical of the local area.
This holiday house is easily accessible and is ideally situated for touring and site seeing with excellent road and rail links close by to Glasgow, Stirling and the North, Edinburgh and the South.
Relax and unwind in the comfort of this stylish house and enjoy all the benefits of its tranquil, rural location. Here is the chance to escape from the stresses of modern life and take pleasure from the country experience that Melville Lodge and its large, well-maintained garden offer.
The local area is home to a variety of wildlife including deer, pheasants, partridges, buzzards and hawks. Bean geese are winter visitors to the local area, the only site in Scotland visited regularly by the birds, now protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. The only other regular wintering flock in Britain is in the Yare Valley, Norfolk. It is thought that the Scottish flock flies directly across the North Sea from Sweden, usually in late September. Using the Forth Estuary as their landmark, the birds follow the River Forth upstream to the Slamannan Plateau where they spend the winter before returning to their breeding ground which spreads from Western Siberia to Scandinavia. The rural area surrounding Melville Lodge serves to remind us of Scotland’s upland farming heritage. Melville Lodge, once part of the farm steading known as Arns Farm, was restored from ruin in 1995. Most of the lands of Arns Farm now grow trees, however, in the past the farm has been a successful milk producing unit and then used to rear beef cattle and sheep.
Melville Lodge forms part of the very small district known as Arns, which did have its own school at one time. Arns School, now a dwelling house, provided education for the children of families of the local farming community. A photograph of Arns School and the class of 1910 shows part of the school building, the teacher and 17 pupils. One of the boys in the photograph is wearing the kilt and another is barefooted.
The house name Melville Lodge was chosen in recognition of the Melville family who lived and farmed in the area of Arns in the 18th Century. Some members of the Melville family, originally from Logie in Fife, Scotland, have their final resting place in the most ancient part of the beautiful Cumbernauld Old Parish Church graveyard.
Melville Lodge provides an excellent base for a variety of activities and pursuits in and around Central Scotland and beyond. The location is ideal for exploring the spectacular Scottish countryside and wildlife, learning about the wealth of experience historic Scotland has to offer and discovering the excitement of contemporary Scotland that boasts fine architecture, world famous engineering, inspiring design, enticing shops, restaurants, cafes and bars. Given the ideal location of Melville Lodge for touring and site seeing, you are sure to find something for everyone.
Facilities
The extensive driveway leading to the house is through a well maintained, south-facing garden with outdoor sitting area and there is ample private parking for guests’ vehicles in a spacious area to the front.
The house has a spacious kitchen / dining room and an attractive, stylish living area comprising of an elegant lounge and adjoining sun-room with sliding doors out to a raised patio area. This part of the house benefits from magnificent views north to The Braes of Doune, Callander, Ben Vorlich and beyond.
Melville Lodge can accommodate six guests in three well-appointed, spacious bedrooms. The bedroom downstairs has en-suite facilities, with bath and shower, while the two bedrooms upstairs have an adjacent shower-room. The bedrooms upstairs each have a king size bed, with one of the rooms also containing a single bed. The bedroom on the ground floor has a double bed.
The energy used in Melville Lodge is predominately mains electricity. The central heating system is oil fired. Electricity and heating is included, along with bed linen and towels.
