Leadburn, West Linton, Peeblesshire Offers over £790,000

Leadburn Manor House
Leadburn Manor House incorporates revolutionary technology in the construction of a unique eco-friendly contemporary home in an excellent location.

Built to a U-shape plan which faces due south, the house is constructed of expanded polystyrene (EPS) on a concrete and steel frame which is clad in Siberian larch, the house was completed in 2011. It has been finished to a high standard with premier quality fixtures and fittings.

Designed to maximise the penetration of natural sunlight, the house has an open plan kitchen/dining/sitting room with Brazilian slate tiled floor and wooden units with granite work surfaces. A particular feature is the hanging oak staircase and the glazed doors which open into the garden on the western side of the house.

On the first floor there are five bedrooms, two of which are en suite. Two of the main double bedrooms have spectacular views across the Pentland Hills and Moorfoots respectively.

The property is served by a private water supply with a three-stage filtration, private drainage to a septic tank and reed bed system. There is under floor heating on the ground floor of the house and radiators on the first floor all heated by the Wamsler 1100 multi-fuel stove cooker.

Electricity is provided by a combination of solar, hydro and wind with an emergency backup diesel generator. The entire property is lit by LED bulbs with energy saving switch layout.

Gardens
There are lawns to the immediate south and east of the property with timber fencing providing privacy from the business area. To the rear of the house there is a patio and barbeque area.

Corporate Facilities
Adjoining the house and forming part of the same building, there are excellent purpose built facilities built to serve the entire business operation.    On the ground floor there is an open plan café bistro with catering kitchen and seating area with capacity for 45 people. There are also ladies and gents’ WC facilities, two wet rooms with showers, a retail area and meeting/function room.

On the first floor there is a large seminar/function suite with a seating capacity for up to 60 people and a south-facing balcony plus WC facilities and a store room. There is ground floor under floor heating from a Wamsler 1100 multi-fuel stove with radiators on the first floor.



Description
Completely self-powered and off-grid, Leadburn Manor Fishery is a recently completed high quality leisure development and substantial country family house that combines the ethos of renewable energy and sustainable development with the provision of corporate entertainment facilities and fly fishing for trout as well as various outdoor activities, all prepared to a ‘four star’ standard as judged by Visit Scotland.

Situated on the site of a former livestock farm, the land at Leadburn Manor was purchased by the current owner in 2005. Following this, full planning permission was granted for the development, and construction work began in 2007. The concept behind the development was to demonstrate environmental excellence by designing and building a self-sufficient property combining residential accommodation with commercial facilities, outdoor centre and a four-loch trout fishery. The recently completed development has achieved this through harnessing energy from a 1.2kW wind turbine, a stainless steel hydro-electric water wheel and a 3.66 kW photovoltaic solar panel array, all completely off grid.
In additional to building an innovative eco-friendly family home, the owner’s objective was to develop a viable business in the form of a family outdoor centre and a quality trout fishery with leisure and corporate facilities. As a result, the property is divided into two parts, combining both residential accommodation and the business facilities.

Together, the property and business offer the purchaser an excellent opportunity to further develop this thriving new business with exceptional facilities, whilst enjoying the comforts of a large family home right next door, and no electricity bills ever.

Situation
Leadburn Manor is situated in open countryside, 12 miles south of Edinburgh with outstanding views to the Pentland Hills.   Access to the property is via a track leading from the A701 public road just west of the Leadburn crossroads with the A703.

Penicuik is about 3½ miles to the north and offers a range of services and facilities including supermarkets, banks, a post office, medical centre, two secondary schools and sport/leisure facilities including a public swimming pool.

Three miles to the north of Penicuik is Straiton Retail Park at Loanhead which has a wide range of retail facilities including Ikea, Costco and Sainsbury’s. There is also a park and ride bus service to Edinburgh city centre.

Edinburgh City Centre is 12 miles from Leadburn Manor giving the property excellent access to the vast array of services, facilities and activities that Scotland’s capital city has to offer. During off-peak traffic, the journey to the city centre takes about 25 minutes by car. To the south of Leadburn Manor (10 minutes), Peebles is a popular market town and tourist destination featuring a traditional High Street with a range of boutique shops and a picturesque hinterland providing a range of outdoor activities including walking, horse riding, salmon and trout fishing and mountain biking.

Closer to Leadburn Manor, the Pentland Hills Regional Park is well worth exploring with over 100km of hill walks and wildlife trails plus cycling, horse riding and orienteering.

The Midlothian Snowsports Centre at Hillend (8 miles) has an artificial ski slope and restaurant. Amongst many other local attractions is the world-famous Rosslyn Chapel, the 15th century Gothic chapel which broadened its renown following the release of Dan Brown’s ‘The Da Vinci Code’.


Trout Fishery and Outdoor Centre

Capitalising on the combination of an extremely peaceful, rural setting within easy reach of the population of greater Edinburgh, and utilising his own experience as a lifelong fly fisherman, the owner has planned and created a high quality trout fishery with a slow running stream and four carefully designed lochs of varying sizes, depths and characteristics . The Manor Lochend, by the bistro is now being used for water sports (zorbing and water walking) as an expansion into outdoor activities.

Stocked with a combination of brown and rainbow trout (at a ratio of about 70:30 in favour of rainbow trout) plus a smaller number of ‘blue trout’, there are well over 1,000 fish stocked between the four lochs and the slow running stream at an average weight of 3½lbs. With a high level of oxygenation of the water in each of the lochs because of its integrated waterfall system, the Leadburn Manor trout have already earned a reputation for being hard fighting fish of high quality and definition without the blemishes to fins and body that sometimes characterise smaller stocked trout fisheries. Some larger specimen rainbow trout of up to 22lbs and brown trout up to 14lb are also stocked which can provide heart stopping excitement for the unsuspecting angler who is lucky enough to hook a giant.

Each loch provides exceptionally rich natural feeding with a range of freshwater crustaceans and both emerging and winged insects. As a result, a range of fly types including buzzers, nymphs, emergers, lures, dry flies and hoppers can be successful depending on air temperature, water temperature, time of day and time of season.

Each loch is fished from the bank with 360 degree access and a large access bridge on the Manor Loch providing access to fish from the large island.   There is also a maintenance boat on the Manor Loch – the largest of the four. Fishing is predominantly by fly whilst there is also a children’s bait pond where worms, maggots and sweetcorn may be used.

Each of the lochs has been designed to replicate a different type of stillwater. For example, Loch Faban has been designed to replicate a wild highland hill loch, while the Manor Loch has areas designed to replicate the Tweed. There is also a slow running stream of about 200m in length filled with lively younger trout.

The four lochs are as follows:

" The Willow Loch – over 250 metres long and up to 11 feet in depth.
" Loch Faban – a tuition loch for dry fly fishing only – about 75 metres long and up to 6 feet in depth.
" The Manor Loch – the principal loch which is over 350 metres long and up to 13 feet in depth. This loch includes an island and a large access bridge.
Each loch has a shallow to deep run from west to east.

Renewable Energy
One of the key attractions of Leadburn Manor as a property and a business are the various forms of renewable energy harnessed to provide electricity for the property. With a decision to make no mains electricity connection, power is supplied by the combination of a Stainless Steel Hydro Wheel, 1.2kW wind turbine and 18-panel solar array.

As a result of this, Leadburn Manor is self-sustaining from an energy use perspective, and unrivalled in the UK.

Woodland
Approximately 2,500 trees have been planted at Leadburn Manor in landscaping both the fishery and property.   The owner has submitted an application for funding to plant a further 17,500 trees under the Scotland Rural Development Programme (SRDP). The scheme is at present at the ‘Amber’ stage of acceptance.