FINDING a dream home for you and your family could be a simple case of child’s play.
Bankhead is a charming four-bedroom home in the coastal village of Newburgh.
And it comes complete with it’s own adventure playground outside and a spacious playroom.
For the last 10 years Bankhead has been home to Colin and Fiona Dawkins and their daughters Molly, 13, and Alice, 10.
“We’re looking for a bit of a change as we’re getting older and wiser,” joked Colin, a 54-year-old purchasing manager for DOF UK.
“The playground will be staying behind along with the Wendy house and all the other outbuildings.
“We’ve had some good times here – occasions when we’ve entertained lots and lots of people at Christmas and so on. We hope another family can be as happy here as we’ve been.”
Originally from Southampton, Colin has been in the North-east for around 20 years.
Wife Fiona, 49, owns the Barber’s Pole shops across Aberdeen. Before moving to Newburgh, the pair lived in a rather different kind of home.
“We were out in an old farm cottage between Pitmedden and Newburgh.
“We didn’t have a modern mains water system or a gas supply.
“Instead we had a water tank outside that worked using gravity. We also had a septic tank and oil central heating.
“It was a different way of life and it was nice, but when the children came along we started looking for something different.
“We liked the location in Newburgh and it was nice to have gas central heating and to be able to walk to the shops if we wanted.”
Colin, who has two grown-up daughters from a previous marriage, continued some of the work started by the previous owners of the property.
He and Fiona decided to extend it and add a sun room, where the family spend a lot of time together.
Colin said: “The best thing we did was put the sun room on which leads into the family kitchen.
“It’s a really nice space to sit in and it looks right out into the garden.”
The three-storey home has lots of traditional features including high ceilings with cornicing and picture rails, panelled pitch-pine doors and a staircase with timber balustrade.
The period features can be seen in particular in the large lounge with its big bay window, alcoves and fireplace.
The playroom has been carefully planned to suit daughter Molly, who has special needs and attends Camphill School.
Access to the house is wheelchair-friendly too.
And completing this lovely rural home is its sense of peace and tranquility.
Colin added: “There’s nothing behind us – just fields.
“It’s so peaceful as we’re not on a main road.
“You’re more likely to see people walking their dogs around here than you are cars.
“We’re going to be sad to leave.”