Windlestraw

Edwardian House with Out Buildings, Gardens and Productive Grazing.


This magnificent Edwardian house, built in 1906, was originally the family home of John King Ballantyne, mill owner and son of Henry Ballantyne, who was substantially responsible for founding thevillage of Walkerburn, set in the heart of the Scottish Borders, having initially purchased land there to build a tweed mill in 1846.

In recent times the house has been home to an independently owned small luxury 5-star hotel and has consequently been subject to a continuous programme of maintenance and repair. It forms part of a charming small country estate and is set in approximately 10acres. It is stone built under a slate roof, with bay windows and has a south easterly aspect, making it dramatically bright and welcoming.

It offers versatile and comfortable family accommodation, with well-proportioned reception rooms and a plethora of exceptionally comfortable and flexible ensuite bedrooms (one of which is currently doubles as a substantially sized dressing room). It retains many of its original Edwardian features, not least its panelled stair case and dining room.

Behind the house with a southerly aspect there is an original green house with brick build back wall and low walls on the other three sides, with complete fenestration and surmounted by a pitched galls panelled roof; a garden sore/potting shed is attached to it. At right angles to the green house there is a further brick-built store.
The drive leads from the public road up to the front of the house. The gardens and policies of the house extend to three acres in total and have been maintained to a very high standard. They comprise the formal terraces to the front with their flag stone steps descending towards the Tweed, borders and shrubberies, lawned area and a kitchen garden.

The house is embraced by a seven-acre field. It is a perfect adjunct to a family home, offering additional privacy as well as grazing for ponies and horses.

Situation

The village of Walkerburn is active and friendly and has a great community spirit. It is situated between Peebles and Galashiels sitting on the north bank of the River Tweed. And surrounded by the stunning countrywide of the Tweed Valley and the wider Scottish Borders. It is a village community that has a village shop/ Post office, its own village hall, and excellent coffee shop, a primary school and a number of local businesses residing in the former mill buildings; it also houses a number of small number if science-based industries and many successful small enterprises. There is a well-supported rugby football club that, amongst other things, organises the annual Walkerburn Sevens.

It lies 2 miles east of the small town of Innerleithen that offers a mixture of shops and services, including highly regarded hotels and restaurants, primarily along it’s High Street. Some 9 miles east, Peebles offers a greater choice of amenities including banks, a Post Office, supermarkets, hotels, a health centre, several highly regarded restaurants, the Eastgate Theatre and a leisure centre and swimming pool. Walkerburn is within the catchment area for the prestigious and highly regarded Peebles High School.

Windlestraw is ideally situated to take advantage of the multitude of recreational opportunities offered in the Scottish Borders, an area widely known for its unspoilt beauty, strong equestrian tradition and tantalising choice of sport. There are endless opportunities for walking and riding. Locally, Glentress and Innerleithen are two of the ‘7 stanes’ world-class mountain biking centres that span the south of Scotland Their Award-winning trails offer some of the best mountain biking in the country and attract riders from across the UK and far beyond. For the golf enthusiast there are a number of course in the area; there are 18-hole golf courses in Peebles and at Cardrona, approximately five miles to the west, with a 9-hole course Innerleithen.

Beriwck–upon–Tweed is situated 48 miles to the north east, with its Intercity rail connections to both the north and south. The journey by rail from Berwick-upon-Tweed to Edinburgh currently takes about 45 minutes, whilst the Journey to London takes about 3 hours 40 minutes. Galashiels is 10 miles to the easy, where there is a connection for the Borders Railway to Edinburgh. Edinburgh and its international airport lie about 31 miles to the North.



Marketed by: Sotheby's International Realty, Cobham