The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Far from off the beaten track
A converted farm building in the Angus countryside feels like it’s in the middle of nowhere but it’s actually just a couple of minutes’ drive from the A90 at Forfar. It also has an intriguing link to Peter Pan creator J.M. Barrie
The house has a literary connection with Peter Pan creator J.M. Barrie
When Tracy Cameron was choosing a family home one factor proved to be the tipping point.
“We’d looked at lots of houses and my son Xander saw Fassfern and said: ‘We need to buy this one, it’s the closest to McDonald’s’,” she smiles.
It’s not close enough to worry about paper cups or burger boxes landing in your garden.
But for a house that’s tucked away and secluded, it’s remarkably easy to access civilisation – less than a mile away from the A90 and Forfar.
A former cowshed on Nether Drumgley Farm, Fassfern was converted into a country home in 2008 and Tracy, 46, and her husband Allan, 47, were its first owners.
Tracy works as a sales manager for a fuel company and says ease of commuting was a major factor in picking the house.
“I did cover Aberdeenshire and now I look after Perthshire and Fife,” she explains. “It’s six and half a dozen to me – once I get on the A90 it’s dead easy to get anywhere. It’s nice being able to come back here and close the door on the world at the end of the day.”
Fassfern is technically semi-detached but three-feet-thick stone walls ensure the neighbours won’t be heard.
The house retains the original external stonework but is completely modernised inside.
What once would have been arched doorways are now lovely double glazed feature windows.
Room sizes are generous, with the living room and kitchen/family room both stretching to nearly 30ft in length.
Also on the ground floor are a dining room, utility room and two WCs, one beside the utility room.
“This end of the house is used for taking muddy boots off after playing outside,” Tracy says.
Upstairs is a large landing that currently houses a pool table but is big enough for an additional room to be created. There are four double bedrooms, all with fitted wardrobes, and a family bathroom.
The master bedroom is en suite with a vaulted ceiling and high level Velux.
Another large Velux window is located right above the bed – handy for horizontal star-gazing.
“The sky is so dark because there’s no street lighting nearby,” Tracy says.
“At night you can lie in bed and see all the stars really clearly.”
To the side of the house is a garden enclosed by a stone wall and to the rear is a much larger back garden with views towards the Angus glens.
Behind that is a grassy paddock stretching to more than half an acre.
A long driveway runs past the house to a detached double garage.
Fassfern has a literary connection to Peter Pan creator J.M. Barrie, who mentioned the farm on which it lies in his 1896 novel Sentimental Tommy, a story about boyhood and encroaching responsibilities of growing up.
The passage reads: “Being round the corner from Thrums it was commanded by no fortified place save the farm of Nether Drumgley; and on a recent goustie night nearly all the trees had been blown down.”