Beside the sea

THIS WEEK: A selection of coastal properties for those who do like to be beside the seaside...

IT’S the Bank Holiday Weekend that hails the onset of summer – when family thoughts invariably turn to a dash to the seaside. People in the East have traditionally favoured the delights of Portobello or North Berwick, said to be blushed by the highest number of sunshine hours in Scotland.

In the West, resorts such as Ayr and Largs have always proved a magnet for day-trippers from Glasgow.

Managing to pull in visitors from both is Crail, one of the prettiest ports in the East Neuk of Fife.

It has everything you want for a relaxing weekend – a picturesque harbour, coastal walks, summer festivals and a friendliness that makes people want to come back time and time again.

It was this welcome which attracted Maurice and Rita Scarles ten years ago, when the Paisley couple were looking for a second home in which to enjoy their retirement.

What a spot they settled on. Castle View is a 1930s-style bungalow which offers outstanding views over the harbour walls. It maintains the Fife tradition of rosemary-tiled roofs, which help give the Kingdom its unique identity.

Mrs Scarles says their sunny days begin at the terrace on the front of the house, watching the sun rising over the North Sea.

By mid-afternoon, they have retired to the decking at the back of the property, which allows them to bask in the rays until the sun goes down.

‘Crail is lovely,’ said Mrs Scarles. ‘It is like a step back in time. When I was a wee girl, people you saw in the street would say, “Hello, how are you?”. Well, they still do that in Crail – and I like it.’

Castle View was clearly designed to make the most of its enviable position, offering pretty perspectives of the harbour and the sea from many rooms.

It has a bright and spacious hallway, sitting room, dining room, a room that could be used as a bedroom or family room, master bedroom with en suite bathroom and a kitchen/breakfast room.

Stairs lead to a first-floor gallery, off which you will find two bedrooms, a shower room, box room and store.

A star feature of the property is the garden space, split between a sheltered rear garden and the lawns at the front, which run down to the cliff – and after that, it’s just the North Sea.