Tayside and Fife is an area rich with amazing scenery and equally special properties.
Having been this newspaper’s property writer for more than a decade I’ve been lucky enough to explore hundreds of homes all over Angus, Dundee, Fife, and Perthshire.
Over the course of 2024 I travelled from the wilds of Highland Perthshire to peaceful corners of Angus, and the sweeping coastline of Fife.
Here are my top 10 properties of 2024:
10. Seabank House, Errol
Seabank House is a handsome new home on the banks of the River Tay around a mile from Errol.
It sits on just shy of three acres at the end of a private lane and is surrounded by countryside.
Clad in aluminium and Abodo wood, it has huge windows that take full advantage of its amazing views.
The house has been cleverly designed to capture the sunshine all day. Its two wings wrap around a central courtyard creating a sheltered outdoor area.
9. Kirsty Maguire’s Passivhaus, Newport
Architect Kirsty Maguire showcased her talents when carrying out her own self-build in Newport.
She specialises in Passivhaus buildings, which cost around 90% less to run than an ordinary house.
Even on the coldest of days her three-bedroom home is warm and draught-free inside.
Its upside down layout places the living room and kitchen on the upper level, where a huge picture window frames a breath-taking view over the Tay.
8. Boat of Murthly, Dunkeld
Before Thomas Telford’s beautiful Dunkeld Bridge was built, people crossed the Tay on the Ferry at Boat of Murthly.
This handsome home sits on the site of the former ferryman’s cottage, and combines two houses that were built in 1864.
Reached by a private forestry track that runs through half a mile of woodland, it has a secluded and wonderful setting just a five minute drive from Dunkeld.
It’s a very special house in a very special location.
Drummond Lodge was on sale for £775,000.
7. Taigh Uilltanach, Loch Tay
From the road that runs through the hamlet of Fearnan very little of Taigh Uilltanach is visible – just a rooftop peeping above a hedge.
Slip through the gates that lead to the driveway and a beautiful lochside haven appears.
The individually designed house sits on the shores of Loch Tay and has its own beach.
Its late owner was an architect and designed his home so the garden slopes down to the water and the house feels almost as if it is floating on the loch.
Taigh Uilltanach was on sale with Savills for offers over £795,000.
6. Drummond Lodge, Callander
A magnificent extension and a stunning refurbishment transformed this handsome Victorian lodge into one of the most desirable homes in Callander.
Dating from the mid-1800s, Drummond Lodge sits beside Callander’s golf course, and the trail up to beautiful Bracklin Falls is a short distance behind the house.
Joanne and Richard Lowe bought Drummond Lodge while they were living in Australia. After returning to Scotland they carried out a huge renovation, restoration and extension project that took until last year to complete.
Most impressive of all is the amazing new extension. Two walls were knocked down and an orangery extension added to create a superb open plan living space.
Drummond Lodge was on sale for offers over £895,000.
5. Kelly Castle, Arbroath
Kelly Castle is a four storey fortified tower house mainly dating from the 16th and 17th Centuries.
The B listed home sits in 33 acres of beautifully landscaped gardens and grounds between Arbroath and Carnoustie.
The current owners bought the castle in 2001 and carried out a no-expense-spared programme of renovations and upgrades. They even added a nine-hole golf course.
Today, Kelly Castle has five beautiful bedrooms and five bathrooms, along with a two-bedroom self-contained estate manager’s flat and a one-bedroom staff flat, both with their own entrances.
The castle is surrounded by formal walled gardens and mature woodlands, and the Elliot Water flows through the grounds.
Kelly Castle is on sale for offers over £2.3 million.
4. Craigfoodie House, Dairsie
Less than a mile from the village of Dairsie is a stunning, private country house with 40 acres of grounds and one of Scotland’s finest walled gardens.
Craigfoodie House also has a separate cottage, stone steadings and a grass tennis court. It even comes with its own hill.
The oldest parts of the historic laird’s house date from 1680 and it was extended and remodelled in Georgian times.
The house itself is impressive but it is the magnificent walled gardens that make it such a delight to explore.
Craigfoodie House was on sale for offers over £2.2 million.
3. Arthurstone Gardens, Meigle
1 Arthurstone Gardens is a house like no other.
Converted from a 19th Century tower and glasshouse, it is unique, extraordinary and beautiful.
It sits on a quiet private track near the village of Meigle and is surrounded by a smattering of other houses.
The amazing, B-listed home was once part of the Georgian walled garden for Arthurstone Estate and was converted into a home in 2001.
The living room, sitting room, and dining room all sit within the beautiful Victorian conservatory and enjoy loads of natural light.
As well as the three bedroom main house there is a detached one-bedroom cottage in the grounds.
1 Arthurstone Gardens, Meigle is on sale for offers over £725,000.
2. Easter Campsie, Glenalmond
Easter Campsie farmhouse is a magnificent home set in 9.5 acres near Glenalmond.
The original farmhouse has been joined to what was a ruined steading. The farmhouse is filled with modest spaces that are cosy and homely.
Step into the steading and the rooms have the grandeur of a medieval hall, with vaulted ceilings, huge windows and doors, and exposed timber beams.
Then there is what must be one of the most impressive indoor swimming pools of any private home in Scotland, with colossal timber arcs framing the blue water of the pool.
Two solar panel arrays and two air source heat pumps make Easter Campsie an environmentally friendly property.
Easter Campsie Farmhouse was on sale with Savills for offers over £1.3 million.
1. Church View, Arbroath
Church View is an incredible new home in a beautiful and private countryside setting near Arbroath.
It’s nestled in a small dell with views over fields and woodland to the tower of St Vigeans Church, after which the house is named.
Designed by Voigt Architects, the house has floor-to-ceiling windows to make the most of its lovely countryside views.
It also makes use of a sloping site to have a ground level entrance at the rear leading through to living spaces that float above the back garden and have a wraparound balcony.
A ground source heat pump supplies renewable heat and hot water, while solar panels and a battery are soon to be installed and a wind turbine is on the horizon.
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