KEYS TO KNOW
of the road where the rail tracks had once run – so these houses weren’t designed to have a sea view.
When the wall was taken down in 1985, the vista over the Forth estuary opened up, which now provides the house with another great selling point.
Blakemore says: “When I viewed the house and looked out of the window upstairs, I I almost didn’t care what the house looked like because the view is so good.
“So I actually got a friend to come round to try and give it a dispassionate eye, but he had exactly the same reaction.”
The view from the cottage extends over to Fife and, to the west, Granton Harbour.
When Blakemore took possession of the property, the interior of the house had retained its original shutters and doors but everything else has been put back in place by its current owner.
There was no fireplace downstairs, just a hole in the wall. A cheap and cheerful kitchen was starting to fail, and a very plain bathroom had an odd and strubborn sandeffect wallpaper on the walls – the only way to get rid of it was to replaster. Two bedrooms, first-floor drawing room, small sitting room, kitchen and bathroom.
Views over the Firth of Forth and Granton Harbour.
Along with her partner, David Stewart, Blakemore has continually improved the property down the years. Although it is listed, to the rear is a 1960s extension, so they were allowed to install double-glazed windows, replacing the old ones which had no architectural merit.
At the front, the sash and case windows have been refurbished.
Blakemore describes her choice of decor as neo-victorian but says: “It is not as fussy as the real Victorian, but I like the idea of deep colours on the walls and rugs.
“I collect things, so I do have the knickknack mentality, but I have paired it back because I don’t have a maid to dust!”
Blakemore is a nutritionist and Stewart is a lawyer, and she says that the location of the cottage has been convenient for both commuting to their workplaces and for more leisurely trips to the city centre.
“We have all the old railway paths [nearby], so you can walk right the way into the city on the routes the trains used to take. It takes around half an hour to get to Princes Street.”
Further along the road is the marina and waterfront development which will, in time, bring more amenities to the area.
The layout of the house is unusual, in that there is a small sitting room, kitchen and bathroom on the ground floor and stairs up to the first floor drawing room, which leads on to the two bedrooms.
As such, the cottage won’t suit everyone, but all the dwellings in the row have been adapted differently over the years and remain very popular with housebuyers.
Asblakemoresays:“ifyouwantsomething with character that is small but close to the city, this row of houses is basically one of your only choices.”