A superb farmhouse in Highland Perthshire has been extended and given a host of renewable energy features.
With its sweeping views taking in a panorama of mountains from Ben Lawers to Faragon and Ben Vrackie, Upper Pitcairn has a stunning setting. It also benefits from a large steading, part of which has been converted into a holiday cottage.
The house lies on a hillside at the end of a long farm track. Although it’s in a secluded and remote spot, Grandtully and Aberfeldy are both just a few minutes’ drive away.
The lane runs past some smart new build houses and historic St Mary’s Church with its 400 year old painted ceiling before reaching Upper Pitcairn.
The house is owned by Louisa and Keith Fletcher, who live there with their twin 15-year old girls. The couple’s beautiful blue merle border collie, Moss, rushes over and rolls onto his back to receive tummy rubs from his new visitor.
It’s a glorious spot to be a dog. Upper Pitcairn is surrounded by Highland Perthshire’s most spectacular scenery. “We’re on a core path,” Louisa explains. “You can go up into Griffin Forest and from there you can walk to Aberfeldy or Dunkeld.
“My husband loves cross country skiing and he and Moss head into the forest in the wintertime. Keith wears his skis and Moss has little booties to protect his paws.”
Renewable energy
Louisa and Keith bought Upper Pitcairn towards the end of 2019 and immediately set about a major programme of works involving an extension, complete renovation, and the addition of renewable energy sources.
They bought around two acres of meadow from the local farmer. This gave them enough space to dig trenches for the ground source heat pump that now supplies heating and hot water to Upper Pitcairn.
They also installed two banks of solar panels that reduce the cost of running the heat pump and cover much of the home’s electricity needs. And they replaced the old windows at Upper Pitcairn with modern double glazed units that are highly efficient.
Two wood burners – one in the hall and one in the living room –provide an additional heat source for Upper Pitcairn.
“In the winter we try to have the heating on during the day when the solar panels pay for the running costs,” Louisa explains. “The house retains its heat well and if you light the log burners at night it stays cosy.”
The couple increased the footprint of the main house with a cedar-clad two storey extension to the rear.
Upper Pitcairn’s front door leads into a spacious tiled entrance hallway. A large wood burning stove is placed where its heat can spread throughout the ground floor and upstairs.
The living room has another wood burning stove and a window to the front enjoying an outlook across Highland Perthshire’s mountains.
Open plan living
The main living area is the fantastic open plan kitchen/dining/sitting room to the rear of the house.
The kitchen has a huge central island, range cooker and pantry, while the living room has two sets of patio doors out to the garden. Both spaces have partial vaulted ceilings with roof windows bringing even more natural light inside.
The ground floor also has a utility/boot room that’s perfect for muddy dogs and humans when they come in from exploring the nearby hills.
On the upper level there are four large double bedrooms and a family bathroom. The master bedroom has its own en suite shower room.
There’s no shortage of outdoor space at Upper Pitcairn. The garden stretches to half an acre, with the meadow adding an additional two acres. There is a large courtyard to the front with plenty of parking. Several outdoor seating areas mean there’s always to spot to catch the sunshine and shelter from the wind.
“The views are outstanding in all directions but we’ve kept some of the mature trees and hedges,” Louisa says. “We are on the top of a hill so it’s often good to have a bit of shelter from the wind.”
Holiday home
Upper Pitcairn has a holiday cottage at one end of its steading building. The Neep Barn was created in 2022 and has a large shower room, bedroom, and an open plan kitchen/living room with wood burning stove and patio doors.
There is an exposed stone wall and one of the original timber stable partitions has been retained as a feature. Another section of the steading has planning permission in place to be converted into a second one-bedroom cottage.
This gives Upper Pitcairn the potential to make an income through two high-end letting cottages in one of Highland Perthshire’s most in-demand holiday areas.
The Neep Barn has its own small garden that doesn’t overlook the main house. The proposed second cottage would have a garden to the rear, again with lots of privacy. “Our whole idea was that people can come on holiday here and have their own outdoor space,” Louisa says.
Arts and crafts
Louisa is a master seamstress and yet another section of the vast steading is used as her workshop. “I’ve been doing it for more than 20 years but I’ve never had a workspace that’s more perfect or a shorter commute from our house,” she smiles.
A flight of steps leads to an attic level of the steading which is used as Keith’s office when he works from home. Beyond this is a storage room that’s packed to the gunnels with outdoor gear. “It’s like having our own branch of Tiso,” Louisa jokes.
Upper Pitcairn was formerly owned by Joseph Maxwell, one of Scotland’s best known post-war painters, and many of his works were created in his studio in the steading.
A variety of circumstances have led Louisa, 51, and Keith, 51, to put Upper Pitcairn on the market. Both their girls go to school in Crieff so they intend to stay in Highland Perthshire.
“We lived in Aberfeldy for five years before we came here and we love the area,” Louisa says. “We’ll be keeping a close eye on the property market so we can find something around here.”
Upper Pitcairn, Aberfeldy is on sale with Savills for offers over £975,000.
