The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Rocking the river views
A house built on a clifftop in Newport has grounds running down to the River Tay. With unparalleled views, loads of character and historical features, and a derelict cottage ripe for conversion, it’s a truly unique and remarkable property
From a distance it’s hard to tell where the rock ends and the house begins
Rearing out of the clifftop high above the gently lapping waters of the Tay, Woodmoor is one of the most dramatic homes I’ve visited in three years as The Courier’s property writer.
From a distance it’s hard to tell where the rock ends and the house begins. Indeed, standing in the living room’s bay window and looking straight down to the foreshore 60 or 70 feet below, it’s an illusion that continues inside the house.
Woodmoor is owned by Andrew and Leena Cook, who’ve lived there for the past nine years. Andrew works as a map archivist and Leena is a translator. The pair both used to work at the British Library and, remarkably, commuted from Newport to London every week for six years.
Eventually, they gave up their jobs in London and both now enjoy freelance careers.
When you sit at the table in their sunroom, with its bank of windows gazing across the river to Dundee, you can picture what a haven the house must have felt like after a week in London.
The main house is thought to have been built around 1850 but the date of the timber-clad sunroom extension is unknown.
Andrew pulls a local history book off a shelf and flicks to a picture of the ferry that used to take Fifers to Dundee before the Tay Road Bridge was built. “You can see the house in the background and the extension was there then, so it was before the 1960s,” he explains.
The house sits on West Road, near the heart of Newport. A couple of steps drop down from road level and the house is accessed from a path through the garden.
The front door takes you into the upper level, with the living room ahead and the sunroom and a study to the left. All enjoy outstanding views and there’s a wood burner in the living room to keep you cosy through the winter.
Leena and Andrew knocked through a boarded-up doorway from the kitchen to the living room, letting them enjoy Tay views while they make dinner. Glazed doors off the living room lead out to a wrought iron balcony with room for a couple of chairs.
The main upstairs bedroom is circular in shape with curved doors. There’s a second bedroom upstairs and, on the lower level, what would be a master bedroom were it not in service as Andrew’s map archive.
The garden has plenty to explore. There’s a sheltered upper level with a tranquil seating area. There’s a gate to an off-street parking area and next to that is a ruined cottage that could, with the help of an imaginative architect, be converted into a stunning holiday home. A steep flight of stone stairs winds its way down towards the foreshore where there is a semi-circular grassy area with stone wall boundaries. “It takes a bit of effort to get down here,” Leena admits, “but you’re right beside the water and it’s really private. It’s a lovely place to have a barbecue and a glass of wine.”
From there, a low gate drops down on to the foreshore itself.
Few houses have this much beauty and character.