One-time Moffat manse offers it all
A conversion in Dumfries and Galloway is a perfect combination of old and new, with features to excite every member of a family, discovers Kirsty Mcluckie
Going to view a property for sale with a treehouse is a risky enterprise when you have small children in the family.
If you end up deciding that it isn’t the home for you after all things are considered, some serious family discord could well follow.
Fortunately for Vicky and Pete Armstrong, who were in that position five years ago, Kirklaw House in Moffat – which has that highly desirable garden addition – was also perfect for their own needs. So their sons, Zac and Ben, got the treehouse.
Vicky says: “It is akin to taking children to see a puppy for sale, you are unlikely to be able to walk away. And there was no way we were going to have to sell the rest of the house to them after they had seen the treehouse.”
The house is a conversion of an older property with a C-listed keystone dating back to 1626.
It was previously occupied as a manse and may even have served as a church in the past.
A substantial renovation was undertaken in 2000, so when the Armstrongs bought the property it didn’t require any major work to be done, but they have upgraded during their tenure.
Vicky says: “It is an older property with an immense amount of character and incredibly deep walls, so from the outside it looks old but inside it is a very modern layout with good room sizes.”
The treehouse, which is housed in a copper beech, did need some renovation work of its own. They extended the deck, reroofed it and put in new flooring and windows and replaced the stairs.
It is fully insulated and carpeted, with a mezzanine level which fits a double mattress. Underneath is a playroom with a television which has been an absolute luxury for the Armstrong’s two boys, who must have also reveled in the convenience of the zip slide that runs from the structure’s viewing platform to a landing area in the garden.
Vicky says: “In the summer, Pete and I sit on the deck with a glass of wine while the boys used to spread their Lego inside.”
In the main house they have upgraded the kitchen, repainted the high-quality kitchen units and replaced the worktops with granite before redecorating.
They added a larger woodburner in the sitting room, moving a smaller one into the kitchen, and both the main bathroom and ensuite have been replaced.
Kirklaw is a large, flexible L-shaped home with a sitting room and a family room. The kitchen has an extensive dining area, and three of the four bedrooms are on the ground floor. Doors lead outside to the garden from the kitchen and a bedroom, and you get the idea that the garden is very much part of the lifestyle here.
The master bedroom suite takes up the whole of the upper floor with its large bathroom and dressing room.
The exterior spaces are spectacular. Vicky is a landscape gardener by profession, but reveals that most of the landscaping was already in situ when they moved in, so it has just been a question of looking after it.
“It is a very seasonal garden, with year-round colour and mainly herbaceous, so it looks impressive but is actually an easy garden to maintain.
“The pond is a lovely place to sit and listen to the trickling water. We have a mother duck who hatches ducklings here each spring, a heron uses it as a larder and there is always lots of bird life to see.”
The pond is flanked by irises, ornamental grasses, hostas and a variety of shrubs to give year-round interest.
Pete is a doctor who works in Dumfries, and the location was another attraction of the house.
Vicky says: “We are two miles from the motorway and really well
It is an older property with an immense amount of character and incredibly deep walls, but inside it is a very modern layout with good room sizes
placed for travel to Glasgow and Edinburgh.
“The train from Lockerbie takes four hours to London, so while folk tend to think this is out in the sticks we couldn’t be in a better location.”
They plan to stay in the area but have a hankering to build. “There is the outdoor lifestyle here which we really enjoy so wouldn’t want to give that up.”
The new house will have difficulty living up to this in the eyes of Zac and Ben, who are now 15 and 12.
Vicky says: “It has been a wonderful place to live and we will all miss spending our evenings up in the tree.”