Modern Ayrshire dairy and a historic Suffolk farm up for sale
An Ayrshire dairy farm with a modern setup, including a 50-point rotary parlour and cubicle housing for 500 cows, is for sale near Maybole.
Garryhorn Farm, which has about 339 acres and rises from 108-210m above sea level, has been in the ownership of the same family since the mid-1980s.
Savills, which is marketing the farm, is seeking offers over £4m.
See also: Biodiversity net gain update
Garryhorn Farm © Savills
The agent handling the sale, director Sian Houston, describes it as “an immaculately presented dairy farm with a modern and well thought-out dairy complex and separate accommodation for youngstock”.
“Garryhorn Farm benefits from a relatively recently completed, purpose-built dairy complex known as New Garryhorn,” she says.
“It was constructed in 2009 on a greenfield site, away from the original farm buildings, creating an opportunity for increased biosecurity with the old farm buildings being utilised for youngstock rearing.”
As well as the rotary parlour and cubicle housing, New Garryhorn has two undercover silage pits and storage for more than 9m litres of slurry.
A 180kW solar array installed in 2022 provides energy for the dairy complex.
At Old Garryhorn, the original dairy farm, buildings have been repurposed for youngstock rearing.
There is a silage clamp and a 1.5m litre slurry store at this site.
The land, which is bisected by a minor public road and classified as Class 3(2), 4(1) and 4(2) by the James Hutton Institute for Soil Research, is generally down to grassland for grazing and silage.
As part of a seven-year reseeding programme, up to 50 acres of spring wheat is grown annually.
The holding has three quality dwellings, which are used for staff accommodation and included in the sale package. Two further dwellings are available by separate negotiation.
Sandyford Farm © Savills
Savills is marketing a second unit in Ayrshire, Sandyford Farm, which it describes as an exceptional dairy and arable farm.
Offers in excess of £4m are being sought for the 302-acre holding near Monkton, Prestwick.
It comes with an extensive range of farm buildings, including a modern 30:30 rapid-exit milking parlour, cubicle accommodation for 280 cows, silage pits, slurry store, an 8,000-litre milk tank and feed stores.
There is a five-bedroom, red-sandstone farmhouse and a pair of semi-detached cottages a short distance from the farmyard.
History and diverse opportunities in Suffolk
In Suffolk, buyers are being sought for a property steeped in history.
Fornham Park, near Bury St Edmunds – which includes 182 acres of land, parkland and scenic lakes – was mainly created in the 1700s for Sir Charles Kent before it passed to the 12th Duke of Norfolk and, in 1868, to Sir William Gilstrap
During the First and Second World Wars, the park was requisitioned by the army.
It once included a mansion house, but this was demolished in 1957 and only its steps, icehouse and church tower remain.
Today, the property consists of agricultural land, former brownfield land, parkland, lakes, mature woodland and grassland, plus a 1930s-style bungalow set in a 4.5-acre plot.
There is also a Grade II* listed tower, which is the remains of fire-ravaged Fornham St Genevieve Church.
Fornham Park © Brown & Co
The agricultural land of 96 acres is divided into four large fields, currently in grass. However, with well-drained sandy soils, the land has been used for sugar beet, maize, rye and winter wheat, and has the potential to revert to arable production.
Brown & Co’s Nicholas Staton, who is marketing the property, says that another option is to enhance the land to generate biodiversity net gain habitat units.
“Such uplift could include the creation of new species-rich grasslands and woodland parcels, and the enhancement of existing freshwater ponds and marginal river areas,” he says.
“Generated units could be sold commercially to developers in England and would be of particular value to those seeking to develop within the Bury St Edmunds local planning authority or national character area.”
There is a further 28 acres of parkland, incorporating seven acres of lakes, one with a boathouse, and 29 acres of former brownfield land.
A block of mature broad-leaf and conifer woodland covers more than 9.5 acres, and there are further small areas of trees and shelter belts.
Fornham Park is being offered for sale as a whole at £2.9m. The bungalow and adjacent land is also available as a separate lot within that whole at a guide price of £400,000.