Home Farm Steading, Balgavies, By Forfar, Angus, DD8

Stunning steading conversion with scenic views, forming a magnificent country house, currently operating as a private home with luxury bed & breakfast, holiday cottage, and spa.

Description

Home Farm Steading is a beautifully presented and well-located country house dating back to 1890. Originally part of a local estate, it included a cottage, mill roundhouse, steading and stables. While not listed, it has been carefully restored and modernised, retaining much of its original character.

Arranged around a sheltered courtyard, the property features two main wings—one housing bedrooms and a spa, and the other a separate cottage. It is currently run as a successful home with bed and breakfast and holiday accommodation but could equally suit use as a spacious family home with separate living space for multigenerational living.

A gated drive leads to a courtyard at the front of the house. Inside, a welcoming hallway opens to a striking double-height dining room with stone walls, a woodburning stove, and a galleried landing. This connects to a living room with a fireplace and on to a large, well-equipped kitchen with beams, fitted units, and space for dining and family living. There is also a utility room, cloakroom, and WC on the ground floor.

Upstairs are several bedrooms, a sitting room with external access, and a shower room.

The west wing has its own entrance and includes additional bedrooms, all with en suites, along with a spacious spa area featuring an indoor swimming pool, jacuzzi, Finnish sauna, showers, and changing facilities.

Across the courtyard, the single-storey cottage offers a living room with a wood-burning stove, fitted kitchen, three bedrooms, and bath and shower rooms, making it ideal for guests or separate accommodation.

Garage: Externally, there are car ports, a store with power, and attractive courtyard seating areas. The surrounding gardens include lawns, mature planting, a treehouse, a pond with a waterfall, a greenhouse, and a vegetable garden.

Renovation Information: The property was first converted into an award-winning country house in 1998 named Home Farm Steading with the original farm buildings taken back to their
walls and fully rebuilt with new floors, roofs, double-glazing,
insulation, and modern services.

Purchased by the current owners in 2019, it has since undergone extensive further refurbishment. This included a complete renovation of the cottage, creating a successful holiday rental. With significant upgrades to the main house, including the west wing, which now provides two large en suite bedrooms, a utility room, and hallway. The adjoining spa, which includes a fabulous indoor 10 meter pool and jacuzzi was also significantly upgraded and now incorporates a Finnish sauna, a completely new shower a toilet area and along with a new “Heatstar” system which controls the heating of the pool, spa room and room dehumidification.

Additional improvements include further insulation, a refurbished shower room, and the creation of an extra bedroom off the upstairs sitting room, which has potential for independent use (subject to consents). A standout feature is the original round mill, now forming an impressive open-plan kitchen, complemented by two spacious reception rooms ideal
for entertaining. The main house offers five bedrooms (one currently a study), with three further bedrooms in the cottage, providing excellent flexibility for family living or continued business use.

Location

Home Farm Steading, Balgavies, By Forfar, Angus is situated in scenic rolling farmland within the Lunan Valley. There are attractive views south towards Dumbarrow Hill, with Guthrie Hill lying to the east. The Angus Glens, which reach deep into the Grampian mountains, are to the north. The Angus coastline is only some 9 miles to the east.

Angus is well known for its range of outdoor pursuits. Fishing can be taken on the North and South Esks. The Angus Glens provide some of the best hill walking in eastern Scotland, together with skiing at Glenshee. Fly fishing is available locally at Rescobie Loch. As well as a local golf course at Forfar, both Carnoustie and St Andrews are within easy driving distance. There are very pleasant sandy beaches at Lunan Bay and St Cyrus, which is a nature reserve. In addition there are red sandstone cliffs north of Arbroath, home of the famous smokie. The nearby Balgavies Loch is also a nature reserve and there are walks in Montreathmont Forest. The Murton Trust visitor farm and tearoom is located close by, as is Sinclair’s Kitchen at Foresterseat which is a well known local restaurant.

There are primary schools at Aberlemno and in the villages of Letham and Friockheim, where there are also local shops. The towns of Arbroath, Brechin and Forfar, the county town, provide more extensive shopping, together with secondary schooling, leisure centres and business facilities. Private schooling is available at Dundee High School with a dedicated bus from Letham and Friockheim, and also at Lathallan (Johnshaven) with a bus service from Brechin and Finavon.

The A90 dual carriageway is easily reached at Forfar and at Brechin, and provides fast access to Dundee, Perth and central Scotland, and north to Aberdeen. Journey times to Aberdeen have been greatly reduced by the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route. Both Dundee and Aberdeen provide all the services expected of major cities, while Perth and Edinburgh are also within reasonable driving distance. Dundee has an excellent range of shops and professional services, together with good leisure facilities, two universities and Ninewells Hospital. It is an established centre of excellence in education and life sciences, and its renowned cultural facilities include the V&A museum. There are east coast mainline railway stations at Arbroath and Montrose, with a sleeper service. Aberdeen and Edinburgh airports provide a range of domestic and international flights and there are services from Dundee to London Heathrow. There are direct bus services from Forfar to Edinburgh and its airport, and to Aberdeen.

Approximate distances:
Forfar (6 miles)
Arbroath (10 miles)
Montrose (13 miles)
Dundee (19 miles)
St Andrews (32 miles)
Perth (37 miles)
Aberdeen (49 miles)
Edinburgh (80 miles)

Square Footage: 8,195 sq ft



Directions

From the north on the A90 dual carriageway turn off at Brechin and then take the A933 signposted for Arbroath. After 5 miles turn right at the crossroads onto the B9113 (Forfar/Montrose road) signposted for Forfar, and then after a further 3 miles turn left, signposted to Balgavies. After 0.9 miles turn right onto a tarred road. Proceed past the cottage and Home Farm Steading will be seen on the right.

If coming from the south take the A90 to Forfar. From Forfar take the B9113, signposted for Montrose. After some 6 miles turn right signposted Balgavies and proceed as above.

If coming from Arbroath take the A933 to Friockheim, and then turn left onto the A932. After 2.6 miles turn right, signposted Milldens, and continue for 0.5 miles and then bear left at the T junction. After 0.1 miles turn left onto the tarred road and proceed as above.

Additional Info

Viewings: Strictly by appointment with Savills on

Local Authority & tax band: Angus Council. Home Farm Steading – council tax band H. Home Farm Cottage is currently assessed for rates and qualifies for small business relief. It was previously assessed as council tax band C.

Services: Mains water, electricity and gas, private drainage for both house and cottage. Mains gas central heating. CCTV.

Fixtures & Fittings: Fitted carpets, curtains and light fittings are included, as are the furnishings in the cottage and the John Deere X500 ride on mower. Further furnishings may be available in addition.

Servitude rights, burdens and wayleaves: The property is sold subject to and with the benefit of all servitude rights, burdens, reservations and wayleaves, including rights of access and rights of way, whether public or private, light, support, drainage, water and wayleaves for masts, pylons, stays, cable, drains and water, gas and other pipes, whether contained in the Title Deeds or informally constituted and whether referred to in the General Remarks and Stipulations or not. The Purchaser(s) will be held to have satisfied himself as to the nature of all such servitude rights and others.

Possession: Vacant possession and entry will be given on completion.

Offers: Offers, in Scottish legal form, must be submitted by your solicitor to the Selling Agents. It is intended to set a closing date but the seller reserves the right to negotiate a sale with a single party. All genuinely interested parties are advised to instruct their solicitor to note their interest with the Selling Agents immediately after inspection.

Deposit: A deposit of 10% of the purchase price may be required. It will be paid within 7 days of the conclusion of Missives. The deposit will be non-returnable in the event of the Purchaser(s) failing to complete the sale for reasons not attributable to the Seller or his agents.