High Wards

We just spent a week at High Wards for a joint birthday celebration- 19 of us at one point. Our group had a wide range of ages, abilities and holiday preferences but everyone loved it. The house is huge, with plenty of communal areas and enough space for everyone to get together or get some quiet time. The kitchen in particular is a great space to congregate and socialise. We booked two catered meals during the week and the food and service was outstanding. The facilities are great, with the swimming pool a special highlight. Everything was very clean and well equipped- even the coffee machine is decent! Emily was also really quick to respond when we had any questions or issues (we didnt realise the pool got locked after 9 and Id left a bag in the room, then there was a minor issue with the hot water on the last night). Location is great, really central for lots of day trips. Glasgow is only about 30 miles away, and there are lots of local shops within a short drive. The views are just spectacular.
Mar 24th, 2023

Mar 17th, 2023

Mar 11th, 2023

Lovely house, great scenery, but were not made to feel very welcome. If you are planning on going scenic walks, please speak to the owners before doing so, as you may be given a telling off for walking in the wrong areas as this is a nature reserve (unbeknown before our visit). There are cameras around the building, which is understandable, but the camera within the hallway is extremely off putting as it feels your every move is being watched (I cannot confirm this is the case but certainly made you feel uneasy). Pool was opened in the morning and closed at 9pm and kept clean. You will experience the owner walking through the house unannounced to close the pool and with a dog which is allowed to run free through the house (luckily our party were not allergic to dogs or indeed frightened of dogs or this could have been an issue). Plenty of toilet facilities and with heated floors which is a nice touch in the winter. However the toilet flushing system is unsatisfactory, this may be due to the system being through a septic tank. If you happen to block the toilet, please be aware you will be billed for this (even if you follow the rules and use flushable products only). The building has WIFI throughout the house, but I found this to be very slow and was difficult to send any messages. Luckily, the WIFI was good enough to stream as SKY TV was advertised but actually isnt available, much to the shock when we tried to watch the Saturday football games. If your idea of fun is cups of tea and relaxing in your slippers, this is the place for you, otherwise Id give this a wide berth.
Feb 23rd, 2023

We have just returned from a weekend stay at High Wards and all I can say is WOW! The house is stunning, we had a visit in September to view the house before our stay and were completely blown away with how amazing it was! We were a party of 24 people (house can sleep 22 but was no problem for Emily to add 2 extra beds for us). Our visit was for a Hen Weekend and all the girls had a fabulous time! The house itself was spotlessly clean massive credit to the cleaners! The beds were super comfy and the quality of the beds/mattresses & bedding were great, bedding was super soft and quilts were so cosy! The pool was great for a pool party, they had plastic cups next to the door to decant drinks from glasses. There was plenty of seating at the table for us all, Kitchen was great, 6 ovens & 3 dishwashers made the cooking and cleaning up so much quicker! Was great to have the ice machine as well saves taking bags of it to put in the freezer. Plenty of fridge space for all the food an drink we took, two massive fridges and then also a big wine fridge. Would highly recommend to anyone looking for a large family weekend away or for a hen weekend as it was ideal! Many thanks to Emily for a fab weekend!
Feb 15th, 2023