The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Life’s a beach beside the Tay
A modern house in a traditional style sits in what must be one of Courier Country’s most spectacular settings – with a huge swatch of River Tay frontage. We take a look inside a house that combines space, tranquillity and unbeatable views
We moved here for the fishing
Satellite navigation cannot be faulted for accuracy. I plumb in the postcode and it takes me to within 50 yards of the house I’m visiting.
Unfortunately the River Tay is between me and the property. I fetch a sigh, drive back up the long dirt track it sent me down, and phone for directions.
Half an hour later I’m parking up in the driveway of the house and going in for coffee and biscuits with Colonel Patrick and Mrs Sara Bowlby.
The couple, both 85, purchased the Beaches two years ago.
Col Bowlby, from Lincolnshire, worked as a stockbroker and was in the TA for 42 years.
Sara grew up in South Queensferry and her daughter still runs an equestrian centre there. One of their sons, Michael, is a former professional jockey.
The Beaches sits less than a mile from the pretty Perthshire village of Stanley, down a single track lane that dead-ends at the house, which sits on a bend of the Tay. The house was completed in 1998.
With five bedrooms, all en suite, four reception rooms, a two-bed annex, garage and office, it doesn’t want for space.
The entrance hallway has more in common with a Victorian hunting lodge than a modern house. A double height ceiling, huge arched stained glass window and a curving stairway to a galleried landing give an immediate impression of grandeur.
The sitting room enjoys stunning views across the river and is where Patrick and Sara spend much of their time, although there’s also a large drawing room for when guests or family are over.
Another favourite space is the conservatory, which has stacked bookshelves and a stationary bike.
“I like to do a little exercise in this room and it’s also a favourite reading spot,” Sara explains.
French doors from the drawing room lead out to a patio area. The first floor has three bedrooms, while the second floor has two further bedrooms.
Attached to the house on the north side is a two-storey, two-bedroom selfcontained annexe that’s perfect either for lodging visitors or letting out as a holiday home.
The grounds stretch to not far off three acres and there’s a large, east facing lawn to the front of the house overlooking the river. Behind the house is a wooded bank that provides shelter from the wind.
Although the couple haven’t lived at the Beaches for long, Col Bowlby’s health is forcing them to sell.
“Hunting has always been my passion,” he explains. “I love to shoot and to fish.
“We moved here for the fishing but unfortunately shortly after we arrived my balance went somewhat, and I can’t really fish anymore. I’ve been out in a boat two or three times but it’s very difficult.”
Instead, the couple are planning to move back to the 17th Century home they own in Lincolnshire.
“We shall miss this place,” Sara laments.
“But it’s too large for us really and it should belong to a nice family.”