Gartclach

Gartclach is a big, modern house on a working farm two miles outside Gartmore, surrounded by open fields where red deer appear at the boundary fence and the Trossachs hills line the horizon in every direction. It was built for groups. Ten people sleep here, eight across four bedrooms and two more on the sofa bed in the games room, and there is still a separate living space downstairs when the main room needs to be quieter. The ground floor sets the pace. A large kitchen with a breakfast bar, wine cooler, and enough worktop for two cooks runs into a dining area that seats the whole group. The living room has a wood burner and a Smart TV, and French doors open onto the enclosed rear garden. Upstairs, two king-size bedrooms and a twin spread across the first floor. Three shower rooms mean mornings move without a queue. A ground-floor double with its own shower room suits anyone who prefers to avoid stairs. After dinner, the hot tub is where the group ends up. Warm water, open sky, and on a clear evening, the view reaches the Arrochar Alps. Even under cloud, the quiet is total. Two large dogs or three small ones are welcome. The enclosed rear garden gives them a secure outdoor space between walks. Beyond the gate, they stay on a lead, with livestock in the neighbouring fields. The Black Bull in Gartmore does proper pub food and is worth the two-mile drive. Closer still, a garden centre and cafe sit within walking distance of the house for morning coffee or a browse. Aberfoyle is five minutes by car, with a Co-op, restaurants, and the Faerie Tree Inn. Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park starts at the end of the road. A morning on Ben A'an earns a Trossachs panorama that justifies the steep bits. Blair Drummond Safari Park fills a full day with younger children. Stirling is seventeen miles east, Glasgow twenty-two, and both are straightforward drives for a day out. Parking for four cars means everyone can come and go independently. Two sister houses stand on either side of Gartclach on the same farm. Book all three together for up to twenty-two, which turns a birthday, New Year, or reunion into something everyone actually fits inside.