Of course, the area’s most famous son is the bard Robert Burns who lived on nearby Mossgiel farm.

In fact, it was at a dance in Mauchline that he met and subsequently married 18-year-old Jean Armour, and the village has an impressive tower house monument to his memory. In addition, the famous Poosie Nancie’s Inn takes its name from a landlady Robert Burns met and wrote about.

Ballochmyle itself was immortalised in a Robert Burns poem “The Lass O’ Ballochmyle”. Recorded as far back as 1165 when King William the Lion granted land there to the Cistercian monks of Melrose Abbey, the mansion house was not constructed until the 18th century.

Despite the seclusion and the gentle pace of life, living at Ballochmyle you have no need to feel remote. The wider area is teeming with retail centres in the nearby towns of Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. Designer goodies are available at Glasgow’s Buchanan Galleries and Princes Court, with the soon to be opened Pollok centre on the south side a little closer at hand. Schooling is also simple: each of the major towns around Mauchline have progressive, modern academies, while co-ed private schools – Wellington, in Ayr and Belmont House on the south side of Glasgow, to name but two – are also available.

Leisure facilities available include sports centres, swimming pools, cinemas, theatres, night clubs, pubs and restaurants. The spectacular granite mountains, ancient stone circles and the sheltered waters of the Firth of Clyde act as a magnet for horse-riders, walkers, cyclists, fishermen and sailing enthusiasts alike. And if racing is your discipline, Ayr racecourse is within easy reach.

No matter whether your preference is action packed outdoor pursuits or escaping the grind of everyday life you certainly won’t go hungry – there is an abundance of top restaurants within striking distance of the development, including the Lochgreen House Hotel, the Brigadoon in Alloway and further along the coast the Seamill Hydro with views across the Firth of Clyde to the spectacular Isle of Arran – dubbed “Scotland in miniature”, by locals and tourists alike.

And then of course, there’s golf.

Ballochmyle, adjacent to the development, has a fine, although somewhat understated, course. However, the jewels in Ayrshire’s crown are easily Royal Troon and Turnberry, both spectacular Open Championship venues, the very name of which sends shivers down the spine of golfers.

And among these great Open venues there is intertwined a ribbon of wondrous links golf courses that can be counted by the dozen. There are the Gailes courses, Glasgow and Western, Kilmarnock Barassie with 27 classic holes across the fence from Troon and Prestwick, and Irvine Bogside. Just down the coast and only six miles from Turnberry is the delightful Girvan Golf Club. At Troon are the delights of Lochgreen and Fullarton, public courses which, if they did not live in the shadow of their famous Open Championship cousin, would command even more notoriety. Then there is Ayr Belleisle, a classic inland layout from the hand of the master golf course designer, James Braid.

Transport links around the area are excellent, with the newly completed M77 making the journey to Glasgow very easy. In addition, within a few minutes drive are the two major airports of Glasgow Prestwick and Glasgow International. Between them they offer flights to Europe, the Middle-East, the USA and further afield.