Within an hour wingspan of Edinburgh you’ll find all manner of fine places to live ranging across a huge area. There’s Ladybank, 16 miles from St Andrews and 21 miles from Perth, while Bishopbriggs is on the northern fringe of Glasgow. If you’re happy heading in from the south then the pretty town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, right on the border, is also within an hour.
The latter is a piece of heaven. You’re limited to the single-carriageway A1 from Newcastle to Edinburgh, but the countryside is more than worth the slower pace, through the compelling towns and villages of Eyemouth, Ayton and Foulden, all within 10 miles of Berwick.
The area has plenty to offer fieldsports enthusiasts – there’s hunting, salmon fishing on the Tweed and shooting in abundance on the Lammermuirs and at the Roxburghes’ shooting school in Kelso.
Up the road, towards Edinburgh, Dunbar is only a 25-minute train journey into Waverley station, and North Berwick 32 minutes from the centre of the city.
To Edinburgh’s north-west lies the quiet and unassuming market town of Stirling, where the National Wallace Monument overlooks the site of the 1297 Battle of Stirling Bridge. Savills are marketing the nine-bedroom Auchenbowie House with 97 acres and equestrian facilities for £1.825m.
Back towards Edinburgh lies Falkirk (up to 40 minutes by train to Waverley) and the ancient town of Linlithgow, where the ruins of the old palace, Mary Queen of Scots’s birthplace, can be found just half an hour from Edinburgh.
Across the Forth Bridge are the eminently commutable Inverkeithing (up to 29 minutes on the train), Aberdour (up to 36 minutes) and Kirkcaldy (up to 51 minutes) – and further north towards St Andrews is the town of Ladybank, famed for its golf club, just about an hour’s journey from Waverley on Scot Rail. For independent schools, look to Musselburgh on the coast for Loretto School and George Watson’s in Edinburgh itself.
Stirling – £1.825m
Auchenbowie House is set in 97.5 acres of its own grounds in the scenic Stirlingshire countryside. The house is immaculate inside, and within the grounds there is a tennis court, stables and a manege.
For sale with Savills. See more pictures and details about this property.
Berwick-upon-Tweed – £650,000
Churchwood House appears at first glance to be a fine period property set within mature grounds – yet it's only 17 years old, and was beautifully built to have real character and charm.
For sale with Fine & Country. See more pictures and details about this property.
Ladybank – £695,000
Church House has been beautifully and sympathetically converted to turn a church into a lovely family home. There are five bedrooms, three reception rooms and half an acre of gardens.
For sale with Savills. See more pictures and details about this property.
A beautiful country house and gardens in a startlingly picturesque medieval fishing village
St Adrians is a dream of a house: the delightful features of a fine country house, yet not so big
Edinburgh, the ‘miracle in stone’, summed up in 10 perfect pictures and quotes
The Edinburgh New Town celebrates its 250th anniversary this year. Here are some stunning shots of this sublime example of
Spectacular Scottish castles and estates for sale
A look at the finest castles, country houses and estates for sale in Scotland today.
Credit: Chesterhill House
A grand little castle for sale near the golf mecca of St Andrews
This grand country house with more than a touch of castle in its DNA is on the market at an
-
Name that hat! Country Life Quiz of the DayTuesday's quiz has a wartime property for sale, plus popes, linoleum and more.
-
Everything you need to know about the stealth red carpet tease and Breitling’s new Top Time B31 watch — as seen on Austin Butler’s wristIn the space of a month, Breitling has signed Austin Butler as a brand ambassador, launched a new collection and snapped up a dormant brand.
-
A waterside cottage in Devon with a private quay, idyllic views and the prettiest summerhouse we've seen in yearsRight beside the picturesque Yealm Estuary, No 1 Noss Mayo is an idyllic home that feels like an escape from the world. Annabel Dixon takes a look.
-
This elegant Greek villa offers would-be buyers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to live in the shadow of the AcropolisAthenian Legacy consists of two houses in walking —and almost touching — distance of one of the world’s most famous and precious landmarks.
-
Six charming homes up for sale, including one dubbed 'one of the most picturesque in Dorset', as seen in Country LifeOur look at the finest houses to come up for sale through Country Life in the past week is full of delights, from a new-Georgian mansion to a perfectly-sized Hertfordshire estate.
-
A Buckinghamshire mansion built for the speech therapist who set Churchill on his path to greatnessPenny Churchill takes a look at Rignalls, a classic Arts-and-Crafts home that looks like it's stepped out of the pages of an EM Forster novel.
-
An idyllic Hampstead mansion whose price has risen nine times faster than inflation — and it's not hard to see whyCloth Hill is even more beautiful on the inside than it is on the outside.
-
Some of Scotland's most beautiful churches are being sold off for as little as £40,000 — but a word of warning before you take the plungeLucy Denton examines how best to help former church buildings thrive as times move on and property changes hands.
-
Inside the £28 million mansion designed to 'shake things up' and 're-define the English country house of the 21st century'With everything from helicopter parking and a 1000-bottle wine cellar to bespoke wallpaper designed by Christian Lacroix, Harford Manor is a country house like no other. Annabel Dixon took a closer look and spoke to the man behind its creation.
-
A blissful and beautifully named home in one of the most exclusive spots in CornwallPenny Churchill takes a look at Boswodegh, a wonderful home that makes the most of its superb location in Helford Passage.
