You want to know, don’t you?
It is a tiny little house, an old Toll Cottage for the adjacent bridge. It has two rooms, plus kitchen and bathroom and a basement floor. The whole plot is rather larger than we had expected. Unfortunately the passing road is far more busy than we had hoped for or expected. It is a large minus point… as is the nearby water treatment works! There is direct access to the river and riverbank walking.
The only neighbours are the Angling Club.
The double front door is concave!
The house comes with a plaque.
Although fully restored in the Nineties, it appears that the house has not been decorated since. The walls are tired and grubby and much in need of redecoration.
There is a smell of damp and several signs of water damage here and there. The kitchen is minuscule.
The cellar however was a revelation, it is huge and equivalent to the whole upstairs ground plan.
Outside there are gardens all round. To the roadside there is grass and planting, including Rhodies.
There is a gravelled parking area that hosts many planters and a greenhouse
beyond which is a small garden of grass with borders and shady trees
Mr L reckons Vincent would fit with the minimum of modifications to the parking area.
Beyond the house, going towards Turriff, there is further garden that is currently running wild and was not accessible to be viewed today.
There is direct access to the river by steps that face the house, or through the Angling Association property. A handsome bench looks very suitable for evening imbibing sessions.
I am not sure why we bothered to view the house. We were never going to not like it… The fact remains that we are in no position to do anything about it. We are now informed though and if one day the money comes in for the Sanday House and this wee beauty is still available, then we can think about it – but, crucially, not at the price being asked. There is work to be done and (joy of joys) Farrow & Ball paint colours to choose. It has to be done. This house is screaming out for Farrow & Ball, don’t you think? (I am thinking Sage Green and Grey) Most of all though it is screaming out for the damp to be fixed and for somebody to live in it and to love it. I am sure it will sell before we are in a position to offer.
Overall, it is eminently suitable for our needs. Just the right size for folk who have learned to live a minimal life. Small enough to be able to care for it even if spending weeks away at a time. But I still don’t like the volume of traffic. This is certainly not a house to home cats in.
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