Spiggie House & Croft

Key details

Overview

Beautifully presented, four bedroom / two reception room, detached Shetland farmhouse set in around four acres (3 acres registered croft land) including a beach and boat bothy, in a particularly scenic location on the west side of Spiggie Loch, the house enjoying fantastic panoramic views over the loch, an RSPB reserve. Lerwick 20 miles; airport 8 miles.

This property offers a fantastic opportunity for anyone looking to 'live the dream' as in addition to a large family home there is a manageable area of land ideal for keeping some animals or poultry, and growing your own, and a range of outbuildings including a workshop, byre, garage / hayloft, hen house and several sheds, plus a wind turbine with feed-in tariff. The beach just to the north of the house, has a slipway, sea trout fishing, and has in the past been used as South Mainland Up Helly Aa galley burning site. The bothy provides storage for outdoor gear, but also has a solid-fuel stove making it a great outdoor entertainment space.

The double-glazed accommodation in the house comprises two reception rooms, a large dining kitchen with electric AGA, study area, bedroom, bathroom & separate WC on the ground floor, plus three further bedrooms and a shower room upstairs.

Early viewing essential. Virtual Tour available here.

General Information

'Spiggie House' is situated on the west side of the Loch of Spiggie in a particularly scenic area of the South Mainland of Shetland, approximately 20 miles from Lerwick, Shetland's main town, and 8 miles from Sumburgh aiport with flights to major UK cities and Norway.

The Loch of Spiggie, an RSPB reserve, is a large shallow loch with its own hide where a wide variety of bird life can be seen, and which also has good trout fishing. Also close by the house is the beautiful sandy beach at Scousburgh Sands whilst there are numerous other places of interest in the wider South Mainland area including St Ninian's Isle and its famous sand tombolo at Bigton, another RSPB reserve at Sumburgh Head, archeological sites at Old Scatness Broch and Jarlshof, Quendale Mill and the Croft House Museum, whilst slightly further afield at Sandwick is the island of Mousa and its internationally important broch.

Local amenities in the area can be found at nearby Dunrossness, about three miles away, where there is a mini-supermarket, post office and fuel pumps, plus a small DIY store, and also the area's primary school, older children going to Sandwick or Lerwick. The airport at Sumburgh is easily accessible for air transport to mainland Scotland.

Shetland is connected to mainland Scotland by a daily overnight ferry service from Aberdeen operated by Northlink (https://www.northlinkferries.co.uk), whilst Loganair operates flights to Sumburgh from Inverness, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Bergen (https://www.loganair.co.uk) with connecting flights from major UK airports including London Heathrow. Islanders are currently entitled to subsidised air and ferry fares.

The house is a detached, two storey stone-built farmhouse with later single storey extensions to the rear. It is double glazed and heated by electric storage / panel heaters supplemented by solid-fuel stoves in the two reception rooms, and one of the upstairs bedrooms.

There is a 6 kilowatt wind turbine with a feed-in tariff of approximately £1,500 per annum (variable) payable until 2039. The property benefits from 4G Superfast Broadband.

The House - Accommodation

Although there is a 'front' door to the east side of the house, entry is usually to the rear, one of the back doors opening to the large dining kitchen with plenty of space for a dining table & chairs in the centre, which was completely re-fitted about three years ago with extensive units in a pale green finish attractively finished off with solid woodblock worktops and incorporating a white 'Belfast' style double sink, an integrated concealed dishwasher, wine chill and a couple of glazed wall cabinets, plus an upholstered bench in one corner creating a cosy seating area. The electric dual-control AGA which has an AGA cooker hood over will remain as will the 'American' style fridge / freezer. Three windows and the glazed door provide plenty of natural light, whilst pine floorboards add character.

A door from the kitchen leads to a dining room or family room enjoying a dual aspect, the main window looking out to the loch to the east. The stone fireplace is an impressive feature and houses a cast iron solid-fuel stove there is also a storage / convector heater. Laminate flooring.

Off the dining room is a ground floor bathroom with white three piece suite with 'period' style fittings, including a double ended bath with attractively tiled shower area over, plus a WC and wash hand basin set on a fitted unit which provides useful storage space. Again stripped floorboards add character and heating is provided by a stylish Dimplex bathroom panel heater.

Another door from the dining room leads to a hallway with front door and carpeted stair with rope banister to the first floor, a built-in cupboard providing handy storage space below. The hallway leads through into the living room, another attractive reception room again enjoying a dual aspect, with windows facing the loch and to the south. This room also has a solid-fuel stove but again there is a storage / convector heater, the fireplace having a shelved display recess to one side with cupboard space below. Wood laminate flooring. Off the living room is a useful study area with wood-lined ceiling and west-facing window, and a further rear hallway with third entrance door, space for coats etc. and leading to a south-facing carpeted twin bedroom, a lobby with built-in cupboard housing the 'Megaflo' hot water tank, drying and storage area, and a handy extra toilet with WC and wash hand basin.

Upstairs the landing is a bright space with a window facing east enjoying the view, and a built-in shelved linen cupboard. It leads to two carpeted double bedrooms, a single bedroom and a large shower room. Both double bedrooms benefit from windows to the front and side of the house, the double bedroom to the right has another solid-fuel stove. Note the light fittings to these two double rooms will be replaced by pendant fittings prior to sale. The single room which presently has a double bed, has a small window to the rear of the house with a view to the hill behind, and a wood-lined ceiling.

Finally the shower room comprises an extra large shower enclosure with shower, separate hand held fitting and additional body jets, plus a wash hand basin and WC set in matching fitted units which provide lots of handy storage space and also conceals the cistern, the wash hand basin having further cupboard space and mirror over. Heated towel rail / radiator and vinyl flooring.

Rooms Sizes (All approximate)

On the Ground Floor:-

Living Room

4m x 3.95m (13’2” x 12’11”)

Study area

2.2m x 1.8m (7’3” x 5’10”)

Dining / Family Room

4.05m x 3.65m (13’3” x 12’)

Dining Kitchen

4.75m x 4.2m (15’6” x 13’9”)

Bathroom

2.15m x 1.8m (7'2" x 6')

Bedroom 1

3.3m x 2.25m (10'9" x 7'5")

Toilet

1.6m x 0.55m (5'3" x 1'10")

On the First Floor:-

Bedroom 2 (right)

4.05m x 3.35m (13’3” x 11’)

Bedroom 3 (left)

4m x 3.3m (13’2” x 10’10”)

Bedroom 4

2.4m x 2.2m (7’10” x 7’3”)

Shower Room

2.5m x 2.1m (8’2” x 7’)

The Land

In total the land that goes with the house is estimated to extend in total to around just over 4 acres or thereby including around 1.2 acres non-croft land which includes the site of the house and most of the outbuildings, plus around 3 acres of Spiggie Croft, a registered owned vacant croft which includes an area of ground by the 'Peerie Voe' just to the north of the house, as well as the beach, all as shown on the plan (includes the blue and yellow areas).

Access to the house is via two driveways, one from the north which is part of the decrofted site, the other to the south over which the property has access rights, the loop road running around the rear of the house where there is a large parking area bordered by a stone dyke retaining wall. Steps from here lead to a sheltered paved courtyard area to the rear of the house with entrance doors to either side, this space facing west and therefore providing a great sun trap particularly in the evenings and a great spot for a barbeque. Parking is also available to the side of the house with a wide level pathway linking to the courtyard.

To the south and east sides of the house is a large expanse of lawn, a great place to sit and enjoy the fine views over the loch, with a picnic bench in one corner. The shed to the side of the house (approx. 3.4m x 1.5m (11'3" x 5'1")) houses the controls for the wind turbine, with a small wood log store at one end.

Over 1,400 trees and shrubs of Shetland provenance were planted in 2018 and are beginning to establish across the site. The non-croft land to the rear of the house includes two small parks one of which has been extensively planted with a variety of trees, willow and shrubs of Shetland provenance. In front of the house is a small park enclosed by a stone dyke which has been used for cultivating vegetables, the area between this park and the house also being extensively planted with trees.

Also on the non-croft land is a collection of outbuildings, the largest stone-built outbuilding comprising a shed / workshop (approx. 8.6m x 3.7m (28'3" x 12'3")) plus an adjoining byre / feed store (approx. 8.6m x 3.6m (28’6” x 11’10”)), each with its own entrance, power & water. Next is a hen house, a mainly stone-built store also with power (approx. 3.5m x 3m (11'8" x 9'10")), and finally a stone-built garage / hayloft (approx. 6.7m x 3m (22'2" x 10')) with inspection pit, power and loft storage area with separate rear entrance.

The croft land comprises three areas, the two parks lying to the east and south sides of the house and bordered by the public road and south driveway, three small parks to the north side of the house where there is another store (approx. 6.6m x 2.8m (21'8" x 9'2")) which is used to house a boat in winter, and the wind turbine, and finally the field at the beach which incudes the beach foreshore and a boat bothy (approx. 7.3m x 3.4m (24' x 11'4")) providing ideal storage for anyone interested in water sports etc. and also having a working solid-fuel stove. There is a slipway on the beach.

The croft land is registered with the Crofting Commission. Interested parties requiring further information or advice in this regard should discuss their own agents or contact the Crofting Commission directly at Great Glen House, Leachkin Road, Inverness, IV3 8NW. Further information on crofting generally can be found on the Crofting Commission's website at https://www.crofting.scotland.gov.uk/crofting-development.

Council Tax

Understood to currently be Band B. Prospective purchasers should however contact Shetland Islands Council directly for confirmation. Details of Council Tax rates can be found on Shetland Island Council’s website at:

http://www.shetland.gov.uk/counciltax/charges.asp

Property location

To reach the property drive to Scousburgh and follow the road around the Loch of Spiggie. ‘Spiggie House’ is the white house set on its own at the very north-west corner of the loch, by the ‘Peerie Voe’.