'One of the most magical estates in the Scottish Borders' is for sale, with 3,500 arresting acres and a Victorian glasshouse

The scenic Scottish Borders is an area of grand country houses and estates, gently rolling countryside, fertile farmland, productive forestry, steep river valleys and picturesque towns and villages. It is bounded to the south by the majestic, 97-mile-long River Tweed, one of Britain’s great salmon rivers, which flows from west to east across the region and forms the historic boundary between Scotland and England.

One of the most magical country estates in this landscape — and a place that ticks most, if not all of those boxes — is the 3,460-acre Portmore estate in the upland valley of Eddleston Water, a landscape dominated by the straight, narrow channel of the watercourse that flows through high-sided valleys on its way south to join the Tweed at Peebles, the county town.

Rated of ‘outstanding architectural and archaeological value’ by Historic Scotland, Portmore truly has it all: a Category A-listed Scottish Baronial mansion, spectacular gardens and grounds, seven estate houses, farmland, hill ground and woodland, all within easy commuting distance of Edinburgh, which is 18 miles to the north.

Recently relaunched onto the market through Christopher Dewe of Knight Frank’s country department and Emma Chalmers of Galbraith, the estate is for sale for offers over £15 million for the whole.

Offers over £8 million are sought for Lots 1 and 2, some 1,200 acres in all, comprising Portmore House with its gardens, parkland, hill ground, forestry and Portmore Loch, a 105-acre Victorian reservoir managed by Scottish Water, to the south of which lie the remains of a Neolithic fort and settlement, the Northshield Rings, a Scheduled Ancient Monument deemed of national significance.

Offers over £5 million are sought for Lot 1 alone, comprising Portmore House with its gardens, designed landscape, hill ground and amenity woodland, some 300 acres in all.

The original Portmore estate was established in the early 18th century by the Earls of Portmore and acquired in the late 18th century by Alexander Mackenzie, whose son Colin, a close friend of Sir Walter Scott, established Portmore’s parkland, woodland and designed landscape.

In 1850, his son, William Forbes Mackenzie, had Portmore House, an imposing red sandstone mansion, built by the eminent country-house architect, David Bryce, in his signature Scottish Baronial style.

Following a fire, the whole interior was remodelled and a family wing added to the north end by Bryce’s younger brother, John, in 1883. Further substantial remodelling took place following another fire in 1986.

Today, Portmore House offers more than 17,200sq ft of well-proportioned accommodation on three main floors, including several wonderfully elegant reception rooms, a family-friendly kitchen and various domestic offices on the ground floor.

There's also a library, as you'd expect of a house whose floorplan could have been pulled from a Cluedo board, and an organ room that's almost 40 foot long. The organ, naturally, is included.

A grand principal bedroom suite, two en-suite bedrooms, seven further bedrooms and five further bathrooms are located on the first floor, with yet another bedroom on the second floor.

And if a mere 11 bedrooms isn't enough? You'll find seven more on the lower ground floor, along with a billiard room, a playroom, guest annexe, wine cellars and caretaker’s flat.

According to Historic Scotland, ‘the overall trend at Portmore from the late 20th century onwards has been one of repair and restoration. The original Victorian terraced lawns have been tidied up, and a central pond added. The walled garden has undergone a radical transformation, while the glasshouse looks like the sort of thing you'd find up the A703 at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.

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Designed by the present owners during their 40-year tenure, the garden now forms the main attraction for open days organised under the Scotland’s Gardens Scheme’.

Portmore House and Estate, for sale at £15 million — see more details via Knight Frank and Galbraith.

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