Giffen Park occupies one of Dysart’s most wonderful locations.
The traditional stone house sits above the water’s edge and looks directly out across the Forth Estuary to the Lothian coastline.
The Fife Coastal Path passes directly in front of the house and beyond that is the beach.
For the last 18 years Giffen Park has been home to Corin and Oonagh Williamson. However it’s been in the family for much longer than that, having previously been Oonagh’s childhood home.
“My parents bought it and I grew up here,” she says. “It’s been in the family for as long as I’ve been alive – 55 years.”
House with history
Further back in time it was once a local banker’s home. Peel away some of the plasterboard and you’ll find the old hatches customers used to pass money through.
Giffen Park is reached by a short lane that offshoots Dysart’s main waterfront road. The town’s High Street is less than a one minute walk away.
Corin says: “We really like that you can walk to the shops in no time. Dysart High Street is just a few steps away and you can easily walk to Kirkcaldy Town Centre as well. Yet when you get back to the house it’s incredibly private with no near neighbours. I’m a big music fan and I can turn my speakers up as loud as I like with no one complaining…except for Oonagh sometimes.”
Location and views
The handsome Victorian villa sits in an elevated location looking down on the coastal path and beach. It has been added to over the years with a striking kitchen and sunroom extension.
Original solid timber doors open into a tiled vestibule. However the formal front door is hardly ever used by the couple. The glazed door into the kitchen is used as the main entrance into the home.
It provides a stunning first impression. The beautiful semi-open plan kitchen/dining/sun lounge has a partly vaulted ceiling with skylight windows. There’s timber flooring and a smart modern kitchen. Best of all, however, is the huge bank of windows giving uninterrupted views across the sea to Edinburgh and beyond.
“Even after half a century here I’ve still never got tired of the views,” Oonagh continues. “You can look across to Edinburgh and at New Year and festival time you can watch the fireworks. On a clear day you can even see a wind farm that’s in the Borders.
“I love looking out in all weather conditions. It lovely on a summer’s day and atmospheric on a gloomy rainy day. We don’t get snow very often but it’s beautiful here during a snowstorm.”
Wood burning stove
Adjacent to the sun lounge is the living room that also has phenomenal views. A wood burning stove blasts out heat in the colder months. There are also high end speakers and a turntable for Corin to indulge his passion for music.
The kitchen, sun lounge and living room are all semi-open plan to one another. Two sets of concertina doors allow them to be closed off into individual rooms. “We usually leave everything open now,” Colin says. “But when the kids were younger it was great to be able to close the door on them and get some peace.”
Across the hallway is the dining room which has plenty of space to host large gatherings and excellent sea views.
At the back of the house and facing over a rear courtyard is a cosy snug. This is currently set up as Corin’s cinema room, with a projector and surround sound system.
The couple converted the garage into a spacious home office that has a door to the garden. A utility room and shower room complete the ground floor accommodation.
A handsome original staircase has a beautiful stained glass window at its halfway point. Upstairs are four large double bedrooms and a family bathroom. The two front facing bedrooms have breath-taking sea views, as does the upstairs hallway thanks to a large picture window.
Amazing gardens
Giffen Park’s gardens are another superb feature. Gently sloping, they face south and capture both the views and the sunshine.
At the uppermost point is a large area of decking with glass balustrades. “This is my favourite spot to sit and enjoy a glass of wine on a summer evening,” Oonagh explains.
Meanwhile, a stone outbuilding that was originally a horse shed has been converted into a very special home office. Patio doors take full advantage of the views. Thick sheets of Kingspan in the walls mean it’s an easy room to keep warm.
“This is the most well insulated room we have,” Corin smiles. “It’s always warm and cosy. Oonagh uses it as her office and when our children lived here it was their favourite place to hang out with their friends – where we couldn’t see them.”
Planning permission
All told the garden extends to two-thirds of an acre. Oonagh’s father is a retired architect and there is lapsed planning permission for two houses in the grounds.
“One was where the driveway is and the other would be behind the house,” Corin explains. “I wouldn’t personally go for one at the front of the house as it would feel a bit intrusive. There’s loads of space out the back that we never use though so that would be a perfect place to build.”
With their three children all grown up, Giffen Park is too big for Corin, 51, and Oonagh, 55. They’re planning to move to Loughborough Road in Kirkcaldy, into a former library that has been turned into luxury flats.
“We used to live on the same street many years ago when we were first married so it feels like going back to our roots,” Corin says.
For Oonagh, selling Giffen Park is more of a wrench as it will sever a strong connection with her past.
“I have a 55-year history with this house,” she says. “My childhood was spent here and we raised our own children here.
“I know selling it is the right thing to do but it’s going to be a sad day when we leave the house for the last time.”
Giffen Park in Dysart is on sale with Morton Napier for offers over £530,000.
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