Impressive country house, charming coach house in about 42 acres of gardens, woodland policies and grazings.

Description

Potterton House is an unusual combination of being a manageable and well-proportioned 6-bedroom country house with an attractive array of period features, extensive gardens, mature protecting landscape and secondary dwelling, all situated within an accessible but peaceful rural location within two to three minutes’ drive of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route; 15 minutes’ drive of Aberdeen City Centre and 15 minutes’ drive from Aberdeen International Airport.

The house is principally built of granite, partly externally harled, under slate roofs (renewed in 2019); an organgery (sunroom) was added in 2007 and the house has also been extended to the rear.

Internally, the house was upgraded with the installation of biomass central heating boiler in 2022 (5 Year Guarantee) with its heating augmented by three solid fuel stoves within the house.

A period glazed entrance porch opens via partly glazed inner doors to an ' L’ shaped reception hall with oak flooring and staircase off. To the right lies the dining room with its southwest facing aspect, handsome period features and solid fuel stove which also serves the adjoining sunroom.

Towards the rear and beyond the staircase lies the sitting room with its solid fuel stove set within a stone mantelpiece, all complimented by the usual period features including cornice, picture rail, fitted shelving and timber flooring. Double doors open into the sunroom with its southeast and southwest facing aspects, oak flooring and adjoining patio.

The open plan dining kitchen/sitting room forms the informal heart of the home and benefits from a bay window to the southwest and triple aspect to the northwest. There are fitted kitchen units framing a four-oven oil fired Aga, oak flooring and fireplace housing solid fuel stove. The remaining ground floor accommodation is completed by a WC situated off the entrance hall and to the rear of the house a utility room, study - currently used as a storeroom -and shower room alongside rear entrance porch and boiler room. There is also a gymnasium and coal store accessed externally.

The first-floor accommodation is arranged around split level landings with the principal bedroom incorporating a tripe aspect, fitted wardrobes, en-suite dressing room and shower room. The front landing leads to double bedrooms 2, 3 and 4 as well as bathroom with separate shower cabinet and WC cased in an oak box

The Coach House benefits from oil-fired central heating and is currently let on a Short Assured Tenancy at a passing rent of£760 per month. The Coach House extends to about 1,678ft (155.89m2).

Location

Potterton House is situated a short distance to the north of Aberdeen City Centre and within a few minutes’ drive of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route. Potterton House is therefore well situated for ease of access to the City Centre, Dyce and Aberdeen International Airport with its daily services to London, Europe and additional destinations.

Primary education is available at Foveran with secondary education available at Ellon Academy. There are also a selection of good private schools in Aberdeen including Robert Gordon’s College, Albyn School and St Margaret’s School for Girls.

Aberdeen is the principal commercial centre for northeast Scotland and is well endowed with a wide range of retail, professional, financial and leisure facilities. Aberdeen has long been known as The Oil Capital of Europe and is now a Centre of Renewable Energy Transition. Home to both Aberdeen and Robert Gordon Universities, the city is also home to a diverse range of professional services and many corporate headquarters alongside cultural and sporting facilities. In addition to the International Airport there is also a mainline East Coast Railway service with daily and sleeper services to London.

Aberdeen is also home to a number of Museums and Theatres and wider Aberdeenshire, including Strathdon and Strathdee, is home to many historic buildings and places of interest. The Cairngorms National Park lies to the west and is within easy driving distance for a wide range of outdoor recreational opportunities. Nearby Balmedie Beach offers an expanse of miles of flat sandy beaches within a few minutes’ drive and forms part of a 15-mile dune system of both local and national importance. Balmedie Country Park incorporates the beach and offers a series of paths and boardwalks.

In addition, there are the famous nearby Links Golf Courses of Royal Aberdeen, Cruden Bay and Murcar as well as the Trump International Links a few miles to the north.

Square Footage: 4,811 sq ft


Acreage: 42 Acres

Directions

In central Aberdeen, head northwards on the A9576 then the A92 to its roundabout junction with
the A92 Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route. At the roundabout take the second exit signposted
to Potterton and the entrance to Potterton House is on your right-hand side after about half a mile.
Alternatively, from the south continue around the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (City By-Pass)
to the end of the By-Pass. At the roundabout take the first exit and the entrance to Potterton House
is on your right-hand side after about half a mile.

For the benefit of those with satellite navigation the property’s postcode is AB23 8YX. If you use
‘What Three Words’ the driveway entrance is: reassured/slippery/exhaled.

Additional Info

The gardens and policies of Potterton are a notable feature. They extend to about 42.57 acres in all and have been utilised as a nature reserve for the past 20 years. In springtime, the entrance drive is framed by masses of snowdrops and then daffodils with bluebells in the wider woodlands. The wider woodlands contribute to the Designed Landscape Designation at Potterton and incorporate an array of specimen trees as well as regenerating woodlands. Storm Arwen has created a large stock of tonnes of felled timber for use within the biomass and solid fuel stoves. This is currently stacked in the rear field.

Leading to the house are tarmacadam driveways, both to the front and rear, along with the former south drive (no longer in use but easily capable of reinstatement). Closer to the house the woodlands are supplemented by an understorey of rhododendrons and azaleas. Patio areas adjoin the southern elevation with the Walled Garden beyond. The Walled Garden incorporates a greenhouse alongside a fruit cage, apple trees and raised vegetable beds. There are also areas of lawn interspersed by a selection of shrubs. There is a further expanse of lawn to the east of the house and a collection of outbuildings including double garage, log store, garden stores and a stable adjacent to the large 17 acre grazing field. The biomass boiler is also located in the neighbouring shed, the heat supply pipe leading underground to the house.

There is a small paddock to the front of the house leading to an adjoining paddock with former apiary. The main grazings extend to about 17 acres and stretch eastwards encompassing a former pond site, the Potterton Burn running alongside/close to the northern boundary and established woodlands alongside the eastern and southern boundaries.

The undulating woodlands encircle Potterton House and form a mature designed landscape of undulating form and nature. The woodlands include a wide array of broadleaves and coniferous specimens with many fine oak and beech alongside scots pine, sycamore and birch. There is also several notable coniferous specimens and there is an opportunity to allow further natural regeneration following the clearance necessitated by Storm Arwen or re-establish the landscape to the buyer’s design.

Potterton House is well screened by the established woodlands and is situated about 100m from the minor public road.

It should also be noted that previous owners (Lord and Lady Tweedsmuir) are interred on the northern edge of the house gardens. Lord Tweedsmuir in his memoirs devoted a chapter to Potterton and his fondness for the property; the chapter is available on request from the joint selling agents.

Potterton House, Gardens and Woodlands are part of a Designed Landscape. There are a number of Canmore Records including Rig and Furrow entries and 19th Century Gravel Pits.

Council Tax - Band H