A handsome Victorian house has one of Perthshire’s most special riverside settings. Tulchan House sits in 22 acres of its own beautiful grounds on the banks of the River Almond.
A track branches off the minor country lane a little past Glenalmond College and splits in two, creating a circular route to and from the house.
Descending through the mature woodland and emerging by the riverside is like escaping into your own private corner of paradise.
Stepping out of the car all you hear is birdsong and the tranquil rush of the river as it flows serenely by.
Tulchan House was built in the 19th Century then substantially extended at the turn of the 20th Century, when it was also given an Arts & Crafts style remodel.
In 1996 it was purchased by Allan Proctor and his wife Elaine. Mr Proctor ran the A. Proctor Group, a building supplies company based in Blairgowrie that trades all over the world.
Sadly, Elaine passed away five years ago and Allan died last summer. The couple’s three daughters Isla, Lara and Keira have now decided to put the house on the market.
Discovering Tulchan House
“My parents bought the house when I was a teenager,” Isla, 43, explains. “It all happened completely by accident. My mum took a wrong turn down the driveway and found herself outside the house.
“She fell in love with it immediately and knocked on the door. She talked to the owners and said if they were ever thinking of selling we would love to buy it.
“As luck would have it they were looking to retire to the south of France so they agreed to sell it to my parents. Their only condition was we kept their old Labrador, Ben, who was too old to travel to France.
“My parents had two Labradors themselves, both girls, so Ben was absolutely delighted when we moved in.”
Tulchan House is an amazing place to be a dog or a child. The enormous home has a delightful, meandering layout that makes it a joy to explore. And the vast gardens with their long stretch of river frontage are a place you can blissfully lose yourself.
The front porch leads into a grand hallway with timber-lined walls. The magnificent drawing room is flooded with light thanks to huge windows on two sides. A glazed door opens onto a terrace that has a superb outlook across manicured gardens and over the river.
A spacious library is another excellent reception room that has numerous original features. Its bay window has double doors that also open onto the terrace.
Entertainment space
The versatile games room is more than 30 feet long as was often used for parties. “Our parents entertained friends and clients at the house,” Lara, 46, explains. “They laid a new wooden floor to protect the original flooring so they could hold dances in here.”
Adjacent to the games room is the study where Allan Proctor carried out many of his business dealings. Its open fire would often be flickering away during the winter months. Both the games room and study have superb views over the River Almond.
The ground floor has a large kitchen and dining room, a second kitchen, and numerous rooms used as boot rooms, a laundry, a cold store and a cloakroom.
There’s also an annex flat with a living room at ground level and a bedroom and bathroom upstairs.
The first floor at Tulchan House has seven bedrooms, a sitting room and two bathrooms.
The fabulous principal bedroom. Image: Knight Frank.The main bedroom is more than 28 feet long and has beautiful leaded windows with stone mullions looking over the front of the house. It has an en suite, dressing room and access to another large bedroom.
The upper level has three front facing bedrooms, all with outstanding views over the gardens and river. All three of these have en suite bathrooms, and there’s a fourth bedroom that faces to the front of the house as well as a bathroom and WC.
Amazing riverside gardens
It’s fair to say Tulchan House is enormous. There is well over 1,000 square metres of accommodation, not including a basement store room and wine cellar.
Some of the rooms have been decorated and modernised but much of the home could now do with a bit of updating.
However, the house is filled with wonderful original features such as timber lined walls, ornate cornices, leaded windows with stone mullions, and beautiful open fireplaces.
The gardens are every bit as special as Tulchan House itself. A raised terrace has a set of stone steps dropping down to a manicured lawn.
Beyond that is a pond with a summerhouse and then a much larger expanse of lawn. A belt of woodland creates a private boundary around the house.
Beside the house is a set of stone steps that leads down to the river. Meanwhile, at the rear of the house are several outbuildings that have become slightly dilapidated but offer lots of potential.
Beyond them is a long riverside path that meanders along the riverbank until it reaches a pool that is a favourite spot for swimming in the summer months.
The grounds sweep upwards to the roadside and there are numerous paths and trails to explore.
Moving on
Tulchan House has an oil central heating system and a private water supply that is shared with several nearby properties.
Much of the land surrounding the house belongs to Glenalmond Estate. Beyond the borders of Tulchan House’s grounds is a fascinating private cemetery. This belongs to the Mercer family, who owned Tulchan House until around 1980 and who gifted the North and South Inches to Perth in the 1800s.
With Lara living in Canada, Isla based in Turkey, and Keira settled elsewhere in Scotland none of the three sisters are in a position where they could keep the house. They’re currently packing it up and have workmen in to tidy up the garden and make everything look presentable.
“We did consider keeping it between the three of us but it didn’t make sense to do that,” Isla explains. “We really hope it goes to a family. It’s a house that should have children running around it.”
Tulchan House, Glenalmond is for sale with Knight Frank for offers over £1,195,000.
