The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Sitting at the top of the bay
An imposing stone house built in the early 19th Century sits on a hillside above Dalgety Bay with commanding views across the Firth of Forth to Edinburgh – and there’s room for growth with planning permission for two extensions...
When Joanne and Warren Daley bought Letham Farmhouse in Dalgety Bay a decade ago the home was “livable”, in Warren’s words, but that was about it.
The couple set about overhauling the property and, 10 years on on, it combines a traditional exterior with all mod cons inside.
Built in 1812 by the Earl of Moray for his son to live in, it sprawls over three floors and has breathtaking views over the River Forth to the Lothian coastline.
Electronic double gates open onto a large monobloc driveway and a small bridge leads over basement storage to the impressive front door.
The ground floor has the two main public rooms – a large kitchen/ breakfasting room with central island and range cooker and a living room with French doors to the garden – both of which enjoy a vista across the Forth.
There’s also a study or fifth bedroom currently being renovated.
Upstairs are two huge bedrooms, both big enough to easily be split in two and each with twin aspect windows giving outstanding views. There’s a third double bedroom, WC and family bathroom here too.
On the lower ground floor – well away from the bedrooms used by the couple’s three children – is Warren and Jo’s en suite master bedroom. Also on this level is a utility room and a games room with oak-topped bar.
Warren, 41, works in finance and Jo, 46, was a former events manager and is now a full-time mum.
The house came with a very large parcel of land. So large, in fact, that Warren and Jo were able to parcel off a section to the side which now has an ultra-modern home on it.
Warren designed the new house with a flat roof and the lower level dug into the ground so their own views weren’t affected.
Extra soil from the neighbouring build went into the Daleys’ garden, creating a clever “infinity” effect, where the lawn stretches out before dropping down to the fence line. In addition, the Daleys have obtained planning permission for no fewer than two extensions, one to either side of the house. The ambitious plans include a double garage, swimming pool, open plan kitchen/living room and a spectacular master bedroom.
If built, the extensions could transform an already very special house into one of the finest properties anywhere on the Forth coast.
Warren and Jo have a very definite vision of what they’re going to do once their home is sold.
“Our children are all at school in Edinburgh and we spend so much time taxiing them back and forth so we’re biting the bullet and moving across the water,” explains Jo.
Warren adds: “Once they’ve finished school and we’ve packed them all off to university we’re selling up and buying a farmhouse in the south of France.”