BSPC Focus on the Peebles Area

THE BSPC PROPERTY GUIDE / WWW.BSPC.CO.UK

Focus on the Peebles Area

A lifestyle location for all seasons and reasons, Beverley Brown looks at why the area in and around Peebles has become a Borders hotspot

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The Old Parish Church, Peebles

THE BSPC PROPERTY GUIDE / WWW.BSPC.CO.UK

Mountain biking at Glentress Forest

Located just 23 miles from Edinburgh and 50 miles from Glasgow – although it feels like a world away Peebles has long been a favourite place for a day out with residents of both cities who come to browse the town’s much admired high street shops, galleries, craft centres and round the day off with a meal in one of the town’s acclaimed eateries.

These same attractions, coupled with the wide range of outdoor leisure pursuits available and new housing developments that offer better value for money than the cities, increasingly tempt many younger people to move to the area and enjoy the lifestyle on a permanent basis.

For sports enthusiasts this part of the Borders is hard to beat. Glentress Forest, which has existed for 10,000 years, is now one of the top mountain bike venues in the UK (and the number one attraction in the Borders), with ski-style black, red, blue and green trails to suit all levels of ability, while walkers have their own routes to ensure the two never meet.

Nearby, Cardrona Adventure Centre adds quad biking, kayaking, horse riding, climbing and abseiling to the list of outdoor possibilities. And, of course, there is rugby, football, tennis, horse riding and more.

The outdoor lifestyle is one of the town’s main attractions - and you don’t have to be an angler to appreciate the world-famous River Tweed, which flows through Peebles like a silver ribbon, providing glorious river walks and trails for cyclists and walkers of all ages and abilities. Dawyck Botanic Garden and Kailzie Gardens provide a year-round kaleidoscope of colour, while nearby hills like Cademuir reward walkers with spectacular views of the town and surrounding area.

However glorious, scenery is only one aspect of what makes a location desirable. Other things like housing, schools, employment, health services, shops, transport links, and social and leisure amenities are generally what determine where people put down roots. Nowhere is perfect, but Peebles scores highly right across the board – and unlike many Borders towns, is virtually self-sufficient, with ambulance and fire stations as well as an excellent medical centre/24-hour injuries unit, sports centre, swimming pool, good primary and comprehensive schools, museum, hotels and restaurants – including Osso Restaurant, situated at the far end of the High Street, which was recently awarded a Bib Gourmand entry in the 2011 Michelin Guide – the only Scottish restaurant entry.

Add to that Eastgate’s award-winning theatre/arts centre, which gives the town a focus for film, drama, music, art and dance, and it’s easy to see why the demographics of a town formerly associated with retired genteel folk have been turned on their head in recent years. But while the town has grown with the times in many respects, it hasn’t lost sight of its heritage, which is still celebrated in annual events like the Beltane Festival and Highland Games.

Parts of Peebles can be dated back to the 15th century, although most of the present buildings and houses in the old town are 18th century – old enough to have developed all the quirks and irregular rooflines that give traditional properties character in abundance. As the town expanded, so too did the size of the houses, resulting in elegant, detached villas, some built in sandstone as opposed to local whinstone. In contrast, there are pockets of modern but now well-established property developments like the 1960’s built villas in Edderston Road, on the south side of the town.

Peebles High Street

More recently, the creation of Cardrona, a planned new village bordering the Tweed on the outskirts of Peebles, has added hundreds of homes to the local property mix as well as providing a hotel, championship golf course, and leisure facilities, including a popular swimming pool and spa.

Expansion within the town has continued, albeit on a less dramatic scale, with current developments offering everything from a two-bedroom terraced home to a prestigious detached family villa in a village-style development bordering open countryside.

Phase three is now available at Ballantyne Place, an attractive courtyard development of just 28 homes situated close to the town centre and all local amenities. Plots three and six are superb stone-fronted four bedroom townhouses, priced in the region of £220,000, with incentives available. Call 01721 721515 for more information.

Forest Park, an apt name for this beautiful leafy setting bordering the exclusive Bonnington Road area of town on the south side of the river Tweed, is a development of 54 detached four and five bedroom luxury villas by Cala Homes. Designed around a village green and with a children’s play area close by, this is a desirable development designed with families in mind. As a result, only two properties remain unsold; a five bedroom Wallace house style with double garage at £725,000, and a five bedroom Stewart, with detached double garage, priced at £685,000. Both properties are available with 100% part exchange and stamp duty paid. The sales office is open Thursday to Monday from 11am to 5.30pm – for more details call 07831 376 625.

Peebles High Street

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Neidpath Castle near Peebles

At Kingsmeadow, on the east side of Whitehaugh Park in Peebles, Taylor Wimpey East Scotland is currently offering a range of four bedroom detached family homes with prices starting from £280,000. The showhouse is open Thursday to Monday from 10am to 5.30pm. For more details call 0845 071 7083 or visit www.taylorwimpey.co.uk The same developer, Taylor Wimpey East Scotland, has opened two new two bedroom showhouses, a Chester and a Chatsworth, to highlight the choice of family houses now available at its latest development in Peebles – Queen’s Gate.

Situated on the edge of town, Queen’s Gate offers a choice of two and three bedroom terraced and semi-detached styles, plus three and four bedroom detached family properties. This development complements the neighbouring Kingsmeadow development by providing a wider choice of two and three bedroom styles than has previously been available, and increase the choice of three and four bedroom detached houses.

Prices start from £159,995 and a shared equity scheme is also available on selected plots. This development is also eligible for Taylor Wimpey’s part exchange scheme, which means the housebuilder will offer a fixed price for your existing home leaving you free to purchase one of its houses– and you can stay in your property until your new home is ready to move into. Plus, for reservations by 30 April on selected plots, buyers can take advantage of a £99 reservation fee, plus free carpets and appliances . . . Call 01383 845 745 for more information.

High Street, Peebles

Traquair House, Innerleithen

McCarthy & Stone’s retirement development at Venlaw View on Innerleithen Road in Peebles – on the site of the old bus station – still has one bedroom apartments available, although 70 % of the development is now sold.

The high specification here is proving a winner, with security entrance, lift, 24-hour Careline, residents’ lounge, guest suite, energy-efficient heating, fitted kitchens and more.

Prices start from £149,950 – and the company is currently offering a £20,000 discount to make a retirement move more affordable. Open Tuesday to Saturday from 10.30am to 5pm. Call 01721 729220 for more details.

Traditional properties in the old town have adapted surprisingly well to accommodate today’s very different lifestyles, with many whinstone terraced houses now successfully converted to flats and maisonettes better suited to smaller families. Similarly, conversions of old or derelict buildings such as farm steadings, churches and schools that can be found in outlying rural areas, combine the best of both old and new for buyers who prefer something unique.

“The property market in and around Peebles suffered from the same adverse weather conditions last winter as the rest of Borders region,” comments BSPC chairman David Kilshaw. “What tends to develop from that is a logjam of properties that only begins to clear with the coming of spring and longer hours of daylight. There are now clear signs of this happening, with increasing viewing levels and the number of offers being received, so we anticipate a busy second quarter for 2011.”

Peebles is the main town for many of the outlying villages, like Eddleston and Stobo, home to the world -famous Stobo Castle Health Spa. A few miles east in the direction of Galashiels is Innerleithen. Smaller than Peebles, it nonetheless offers a good variety of shops and eateries, a nine-hole golf course, and a property market that comprises a similar mix of traditional, modern and new houses.

While Peebles has Neidpath Castle, neighbouring Innerleithen has Traquair, home to the Maxwell Stuarts since before the time of Mary Queen of Scots and believed to be the oldest inhabited house in Scotland.

Innerleithen also has good schools, shops and restaurants.

North-west of Peebles is the picturesque village of West Linton, a thriving community with stone-built cottages and a history that can be traced back to the Iron Age. Just off the A702, the village is only a short drive to the Edinburgh bypass, which makes it a popular location for commuters. West Linton has a primary school, shops, an old tollbooth building (now a tearoom), park, a notable restaurant housed in an old bakehouse, plus a variety of special interest groups, including a music society and a drama club.

It also has an 18-hole golf course accessed via a tree-lined lane, on the edge of which is Rutherford Castle, a small development of just six, four and five bedroom detached houses by Manor Kingdom.

He adds: “With financial experts predicting the only way for interest rates is up, anyone thinking of putting their home on the market would be well advised to do so quickly to secure the best mortgage terms available.”

Suspension bridge over the River Tweed at Peebles

Neidpath Castle near Peebles

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Window shopping in Peebles high street

Currently for sale at Rutherford Castle is an impressive four bedroom Diplomat house style that has served as a showhouse.

Completed inside to an outstanding specification by interior designer Eileen Kesson, it comes fully fitted with everything a buyer would need – should they wish - to move in and start living.

Features include a minstrel-style gallery landing, generous dining kitchen with a range cooker, American -style fridge freezer and wine cooler, four bedrooms - three with en suite facilities (and master also with separate dressing room) and a luxury family bathroom.

The decor is predictably tasteful, as the furniture and accessories, which includes chandeliers. The former showhouse is available, fully furnished, for £899,000.

Eastgate Theatre in Peebles

To the west of Peebles, in the town of Biggar, Teviotdale has an attractive development of just 20, three bedroom property styles ranging from terraced and semi-detached to detached. These are currently available for sale from £169,995 – and now also for rent. Although it is within South Lanarkshire, Biggar is a popular town and ideally placed for commuting to either Edinburgh or Glasgow. For more details call 01721 723999.

Perhaps the best reason to live in and around Peebles is that it’s a perfect antidote to today’s high stress lifestyles. The people are friendly, the pace is laid-back, and the surrounding countryside keeps you grounded and in touch with nature.

Locations don’t come much better than this.

In addition, there’s an option to purchase another Diplomat house style – and as a special incentive for early completion Manor Kingdom is offering an interior design package worth £50,000, which can include furniture, floor and wall coverings, fixture and fittings – it’s entirely up to the buyer to decide.

Blackwood & Smith W.S.(BS) 39 High Street, Peebles, EH45 8AN Tel. 01721 720131 Fax. 01721 729804 15 Eastgate (Property),Peebles, EH45 8AD Tel. 01721 721515 Fax. 01721 721865 Email.property@blackwoodsmith.com Website. www.blackwoodsmith.com

Cullen Kilshaw (CK) 23 Northgate, Peebles, EH45 8RX Tel. 01721 723999 Fax. 01721 723888 Email.peebles@cullenkilshaw.com Website: www.cullenkilshaw.com

This Diplomat, plus incentive, is available for £875,000 with a spring entry date. Call 08442 579426 or visit www.manorkingdom.com for details.

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Cyclists taking in the views of the surrounding countryside near Peebles

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Images courtesy of Visit Scotland Borders, Scottish Viewpoint and Digital Image

Cringletie House Hotel, near Peebles