Assistance from divining intervention

ANN WALLACE

ON AN upstairs window ledge of Bellspool Coach House, some 60-year-old graffiti has stood the test of time. “It was carved into the wood with a penknife by some mischievous boy scouts who must have been camping in the woods nearby,” smiles current owner Kay Pringle. “The building would have been run down and empty back then, left to fall into disrepair presumably after the Second World War.

“There are names and dates, August 1958, and one has signed himself ‘HS’ – head scout!”

She smiles: “I do wonder what happened to them – I like to think of them as Still Game characters, still around, still naughty scamps.”

Bellspool is a one-off – a beautiful family home in a stunning woodland setting, with all kinds of intriguing connections to the history of the local area. Located near Stobo, it was originally built as the stables and carriage quarters for Dawyck House in 1863. It was converted into a house in 1998, and Kay and her family bought it around 15 years ago.

“We had been looking for a new house, in Northumberland, which is where my husband Robert’s family is from,” explains Kay. “On a walking holiday to Scotland, we stayed in Peebles and we really loved the place. We were driving to Dawyck Botanic Gardens, and just past the entrance, we spotted this house and were immediately drawn to it.”

Bellspool is an eye-catching property with many original features retained in the conversion. The ground floor includes a lovely split-level sitting room, kitchen, dining room and cosy snug, plus shower room, laundry and fitness room, which could equally be an office or bedroom.

Upstairs, there is an impressive master bedroom suite, three further double bedrooms and an office, plus a family bathroom (complete with a cast iron, roll-top bath) and the guest bedroom suite.

Kay’s favourite part of the house is the hallway in the original Victorian red brick central archway, which would have been the entrance to the coach house.

“Here, you can welcome people in, but also sit and chat and relax,” she says. “It’s the heart of the house, and it has views over the gardens. It’s the space we use most often, although the wood-panelled snug is a great place to cosy up and read in the autumn and winter.”

There are other reminders of the property’s past – the stone-floored kitchen is full of character; there is an original stable post and tie set into the elegant dining room wall; and a winch outside an upstairs window is a reminder of when horse feed and hay were hauled up to be stored in the loft above the stables.

The Pringles have upgraded and extended the building to create a versatile, stylish