H
ilary Joiner has been holidaying in the Cairngorms since she was very young. Her aunt had a house in the area and her
family regularly visited to take advantage of the excellent skiing. Therefore, when Hilary and her partner Craig decided to look for a second home as well as an investment property, this region of the Scottish Highlands was high on their wish list. However, after searching for several years to no avail, they were ready to quit. “After yet another disappointment of a sale which fell through, we decided it was time to close the book on our search,” Hilary recalls. Or so she says. A sneaky last peek online, and Pityoulish Estate – nestled between Nethy Bridge and Coylumbridge – caught her attention. “The owners at Pityoulish Estate were breaking up some parts of the estate and Pityoulish Steading was part of this. We made an appointment not to view the steading itself, but a small farmer’s cottage next door.”
Hilary had seen the steading (a group of
farmstead buildings) in the particulars, but knew right away it would be madness to take on something so large, and in such a state of dilapidation. However, when the agent suggested that she and Craig take a look, they didn’t refuse. “We still really had no intention of buying it, but we found ourselves making an offer and when it was accepted, there was no going back.” The renovation began in 2016 and quickly hit a snag – in the form of bats. “We hadn’t understood just how important bats are in projects, and how time-consuming it is to obtain the necessary licences. We were at a snagging stage before lockdown hit, but it took us such a long time to even start because of how much getting the bat licences delayed the build. You can only do surveys while they’re nesting, and bat surveyors are very busy. It took about a year and a half before we could get the survey
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68
