Flee the daily grind
Converted mill is perfect place to just go with the flow and slow down
LIFE is not something you rush at the Old Mill, by Meigle in Perthshire. There has been a building here since the days of Robert the Bruce, and for centuries the flowing waters would gently turn the wheel and grind the grain.
The mill was converted in the 1980s into a three-storey house – one that would appeal to those who appreciate a slower pace of life.
Surrounding the B-listed property are 3.4 acres of grounds and gardens, rich in woodland and graced by the former mill pond, which is teeming with wildlife.
Everywhere you go in the L-plan house you are reminded of its working past, with stone flooring, brick arch ways and wooden beams on the ceiling.
A useful utility room, which used to be the mill’s kiln room, has a Belfast sink, wooden worktops as well as plumbing for a washing machine and a Worcester Greenstar Danesmoor boiler.
The Mill House is built on a slope, so the dining room on the middle floor opens up to an external courtyard. The sitting room on the same level retains further original mill workings, together with wooden flooring, stone fireplace and an arch that leads to the library.
On the other side of the sitting room lies a triple-aspect music room with three wall lights, doubleglazed doors to the garden and a wooden floor.
There are four bedrooms on the upper floor, one of which is being used as an office, with wonderful views of the gardens and surrounding countryside.
Savills property agent Ruaraidh Ogilvie has extensive experience of rural properties in this part of the world.
He said: ‘This sensitively refurbished former mill is rich in character and surrounded by delightful gardens. At 3.4 acres, the grounds are generous but manageable, creating a wonderful private haven around the house.
‘The property is utterly beguiling with its intriguing features and sympathetic modernising and is now a marvellous family home.’
The Vale of Strathmore consists of the wide valley between the Sidlaw Hills and the southern Grampians. The first recorded history here dates from Roman times but the area is also rich in legend. Some believe it to be the ancient kingdom of King Arthur – he of the Round Table fame.
The story goes that his Queen, Guinevere, returned to her husband’s court after being abducted, only to be sentenced to death for her suspected infidelity.
She was then torn to pieces by wild beasts.
Meigle, where the Old Mill sits, was also an important seat of power in Pictish times, and the area’s collection of early medieval sculptures is one of the most important in Western Europe.
Beside the house lies a triple garage, with colonial-style sloping slate roof, concrete floor and power and light. The loft area above has been converted into an attic room, which could work as a sizeable home office.
The gardens have been extended imaginatively to incorporate the platforms of a former railway station, latterly known as Alyth Junction.
Originally opened in 1861, the line was used by members of the Royal Family, including the Queen, when visiting the Queen Mother at nearby Glamis Castle.
The line eventually closed in 1967, which means the old mill would have settled back into its old, familiar, quiet routine.