It’s picture perfect
Fine Victorian villa’s rooms with a view call to mind movie greats
IT’S a long way from Tinseltown – but this impressive property calls to mind at least two films – A Room With a View and Trainspotting.
For the elegant sandstone villa sits in an elevated position with sweeping views of one of Scotland’s most famous rail bridges, the Tay.
The structure, built in 1887 and spanning nearly three miles, forms part of a panoramic overlook over the silvery river itself.
This fine four-bedroom home is in Wormit, part of Newport-on-Tay. Thanks to the rail and road bridges to Dundee, this town probably leans more towards Tayside than it does the Kingdom of Fife.
And you need only step into the master bedroom and look out of the window to appreciate the closeness to the city known for ‘jute, jam and journalism’.
The Tay Bridge allowed the 19th Century industrialists of Dundee to establish fashionable homes across the water in Newport, sufficiently distant from the factories and mills where they made their money.
A healthy arts scene grew up in the town thanks to the migration of painters and designers from the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, part of the University of Dundee.
This immaculately presented semi-detached home is in a soughtafter location, next to the Wormit and Newport Tennis Club.
You are greeted by lovely original mosaic floor tiles in the porch, which leads to a workshop. Perhaps the Victorians were the first to appreciate the benefits of working from home?
The public accommodation is reached via a broad main hall. An inner hall leads to the dramatic modern extension at the rear.
This is the beating heart of the house, providing a modern dining kitchen with bifolding doors to the sun-blessed, south-facing gardens.
The lovely lounge at the front also enjoys river and bridge views thanks to a wide bay window.
Ground-floor accommodation also includes a double bedroom, a snug sitting room, shower room and utility cupboard.
Up the attractive staircase, you will find three more double bedrooms, with the front two enjoying those spectacular views of the water. The master bedroom, which has an ornate fireplace, has a lovely bay window which allows you to drink in all the stunning scenery.
The bedrooms are serviced by a three-piece bathroom suite, with roll-top bath. Worthy of particular mention here is the wainscoting to waist height, which pays tribute to the house’s origins.
Offering the opportunity for further development is the floored loft, accessed by means of a pulldown ladder. What an eyrie you could build here, with a bird’s-eye view across the Tay.
On the roof at the back of the house you will find a number of solar panels, on a tariff which generates on average £950 a year.
The outside patio looks like the perfect place to enjoy a sunny summer afternoon. The area is fully paved, with plenty of room for a six-seater dining table. If it gets chilly, you can retire indoors but still achieve that al fresco feel because the windows open fully the entire length of the kitchen.
The area is well served by transport, with buses to St Andrews and on to Edinburgh.
However, most people here will probably gravitate towards bustling Dundee, just like all of those Victorian industrialists and artists once did.