Estate Details
Blairnear Dalry, Ayrshire
Sleeps - 30
Region -
Sporting
Activities
Entertainment / Falconry / Highland Games etc · Golf Courses nearby · Snooker / Billiards / Games Room
Facilities
Mobile Coverage · Snooker / Billiards · Wi-fi
Features
Children Friendly · Fully Catered
Rental
£POA
Exclusive Use
The historic Blair Estate in Ayrshire, is set in 220 acres of Ancient Woodland, Parkland and Private Gardens and is available on an Exclusive Use basis, fully staffed and catered, for Private House Parties, Celebrations, Incentive Travel, Corporate Meetings and Private Dinners.
Location
Blair Estate is situated just 25 minutes from Glasgow International Airport, 25 minutes from Glasgow Prestwick Airport and 75 minutes from Edinburgh Airport. In addition, it is only 15 minutes from the Ayrshire coast offering easy access to the Isle of Arran, Bute, Holy Isle and Cumbrae islands.
Private Dining
The oak panelled Dining Room, added by Captain William Fordyce Blair in the 1800s, can comfortably seat eighteen guests around our beautiful dining table which was originally made for the Zoffany family. For larger groups, we can seat up to 50 guests in the dining room or up to 80 guests in the 1668 Drawing Room for a private dinner. For any celebration or formal dinner Blair provides the perfect setting and a wonderful house party atmosphere.
Food
Our Executive Chef will create menus tailored to your individual requirements and preferences and can cater for all special dietary requirements. Our produce is sourced from the best local ingredients and is served by our professional staff and Head Butler. All foods are purchased through a Freedom Foods policy that has been adopted by our carefully selected suppliers and all beef produce has been matured for at least 28 days and has proof of traceability and authenticity of country of origin (Scotland, UK).
No Corkage Charge
You are welcome to provide your own wines and alcoholic for your event, family gathering or celebration at Blair and our team will prepare and serve everything for you. It is important to mention that we do not charge corkage.
Corporate and Incentive Travel
We provide the perfect environment for corporate incentives, business meetings, corporate ‘Away Days’ and team building. Blair’s idyllic location will meet all your exclusive hospitality requirements. In the main house we have flexible events spaces, all with natural daylight and complimentary Wi-Fi that can be used for meetings, as ‘break out’ rooms or for informal dining. We also offer a wide range of activities and experiences that can take place in the castle grounds or nearby. Our location also means that we can offer a high level of privacy for your event. At Blair, we take your privacy very seriously and all our staff have signed non-disclosure agreements.
House Parties
Blair is also perfect for birthdays, celebrations or multi-generational family gatherings. While you enjoy your own private House Party, you will dine in style in the castle’s Dining Room and your personal chef will create mouth-watering menus using the finest local ingredients. Our team will be on hand to look after you and your guests throughout your stay and to ensure you all have a thoroughly enjoyable and memorable time. Outside, the beautifully landscaped gardens sweep down past the croquet lawn and ‘Bombo’ Burn leading to the estate parkland and woodlands beyond. Guests can enjoy a range of activities in the castle grounds from a private falconry display, to clay-pigeon shooting, mini-highland games and much more. Again, we will be on hand to assist with all the arrangements. This is especially helpful for guests who are planning an event or celebration from abroad.
Sustainability is core to everything we do
When we bought Blair Estate in 2012, we stated that we would make it a “model of energy efficiency, showing how one of Scotland’s most historic houses could be made sustainable for the challenges of the 21st century. Since then, through investment in energy efficiency measures, the carbon footprint of the house has been halved. The Estate includes over 100 acres of historic ancient woodlands. As many of these magnificent trees, planted in the 19th century, are coming to the end of their natural lives, we have started a programme of replanting for the future, with thousands of new trees planted for both natural amenity and to create a zero-carbon footprint. All of our electricity comes from renewable sources and we have an electric vehicle charging point. Plus..
– Wherever possible, the food we serve is locally sourced from Ayrshire or from within in a 100 miles of our location.
– Our Executive Chef offers a range of delicious vegetarian/vegan menus.
– Our key goal in 2020 is to eliminate completely the use of single use plastics and we have rigorous policies towards ‘reduction, re-use and re-cycling’.
– In February 2020 we became members of Green Tourism and have signed up to their sustainable tourism certification programme.
History
The Blair Estate is a unique Scottish castle with a fascinating history. The origins of this ancient castle date back to c.1105 with the construction of a Norman Tower; the remains of which can still be seen in The Guard Room today. With a second tower added in 1203 and major additions in 1668 and in the 1800s, the castle is reputed to be the oldest continually inhabited mansion house in Scotland The Drawing Room, with its beautiful Adam style plaster work containing the heraldic motifs of the Hamilton and Blair crests, was originally two adjoining rooms. The symbols of the English rose, the Scottish thistle, the French fleur de lys and the Hamilton crescent moons in the plasterwork all relate to the historic roots of the family. A very warm Scottish welcome awaits all our guests.
