WithyWindle, 548 West Whins, The Park, Findhorn, Forres, IV36 3SH

Property Summary

A truly superb 3 bedroom, detached, eco home in The Park eco-village, Findhorn. Completed in March 2019, WithyWindle offers 3 double bedrooms (one of which is an accessible, self-contained suite), bathroom, a spacious open-plan dining kitchen, bright upstairs living with vaulted ceilings and large east and west-facing balconies, this wonderful home is truly a delight.

With over 70% of the electrical energy provided by the 12-panel AES Solar PV system being used by the house over a  typical year, WithyWindle has incredibly low net running costs.  Additionally two separate solar thermal systems; one ground mounted and one roof mounted, in conjunction with the back boiler to the wood burning stove, provide the majority of the hot water requirements.

Great consideration has been given to the materials used throughout, with large west and south facing windows to maximise solar gain, a highly insulated, tight thermal envelope, Fakro and Nordan wooden double-glazed windows and doors throughout and thermostat controlled zoned electrically heated engineered oak wood floors. The above design considerations have resulted in WithyWindle being awarded an EPC of B, which reflects its superb energy efficiency and all "1"s on the Home Report.

Superfast Full-fibre Broadband (150Mb/s) provides the ability to work-from-home while living in a superb environment.

WithyWindle has a serene outlook over the community open space and firepit with abundant colours of pine-trees, gorse, broom and ground lichen.

A versatile home, WithyWindle would suit a family, a single person or couple with the option of income-producing additional accommodation, or a multi-generational family. The current owners would be delighted to sell it 'complete' with most of the existing furniture, furnishings, blinds, bedding, kitchen & utility appliances, for 'ready to go' occupation.

Accommodation

Entering through a wooden door with frosted glass panel into the bright vestibule with small side window. Ideal for shedding outdoor coats and shoes. The vestibule has a deep cupboard with hanging rail. Tile floor. Radiator. A wooden door with glass panels and a glazed side panel leads into the bright ground floor. To the right a self-contained suite comprising double bedroom, shower room and small kitchen area provides an excellent opportunity for additional income, or ideal for use as a suite for elderly parents or family. A superb curved oak-tread wooden staircase leads to the upper floor.

Upper Accommodation

The beautiful, curved wood staircase with oak tread stairs, leads directly into an incredible living space with 4-metre-high vaulted ceilings and an abundance of Fakro and Nordan windows to three sides. A beautiful, peaceful room with an incredible ambience, with oak engineered flooring and fitted blinds to all windows. Electric underfloor heating. A patio door leads to a substantial upper deck with a mixture of wood and glass railing. Reminiscent of a ship, a substantial rope pulley is attached to a beam protruding from the roof and provides for easy handling of logs for the log burner. A circular log burner on a glass hearth provides a wonderful feature in the corner of the room and additionally, with the presence of a back boiler, a secondary source for heating the downstairs radiators, bedrooms, and hot water. Two oak-tread steps lead to the upper bedrooms and bathroom.

Bathroom (1.7m x 2.2m)

A bright, modern bathroom with a 4-piece white suite comprising wall mounted basin with mirrored cupboard above, WC, bidet and bath with mains rainfall shower above. Tiled backsplash halfway around the wall with full height tiling surrounding the bath. Tiled floor with underfloor electric heating, Extractor unit. A ceiling window with inset blind, provides natural light and ventilation.

Master Bedroom (3.8m x 3.6m)

This dual-aspect, double bedroom is a delight. With a patio door opening to a large full-width east facing deck with glass panels, looking out over the colourful, open community gardens with a multitude of birds, wildlife and colour. A feature galvanised steel spiral staircase leads from the balcony to the garden. Dual heated (electric and hot water) skirting radiator. Carpet. Curtains, curtain rail, blinds. Adjacent to the master bedroom is a walk-in dressing room (2.2m x 2.1m) providing substantial hanging and shelf space, a ceiling window with integral blind provides ample light.

Bedroom 3 (2.8m x 3.4m)

This unique double bedroom has south-facing windows. A built-in double cabin bed fits neatly into this room with a further fitted wall-to-wall desk space, making this an ideal combination bedroom / study. An internal window has been cleverly fitted into the wall looking over the stairs to the living space allowing for further light to stream in.

Access to the ample storage walk-through loft, housing the PV Inverter, is via a hatch and pull-down ladder in the upper hallway.

Ground Floor

Dining Area

With south-facing floor to ceiling windows this beautiful, bright dining area is passive-solar, with  sufficient space to accommodate a table to seat 6. Electric underfloor heating. Venetian blinds.

Kitchen

Dual-aspect, and open plan to the dining area, this modern, bright kitchen offers a wide range of upper and lower grey wooden cabinets contrasting with the wood countertop. An integrated breakfast bar provides seating for two. The one-and-a-half stainless sink, with mixer taps, sits beneath a wide, south-west facing window. Roller blinds. With integrated Neff oven, hob and extractor fan and space for a large freestanding fridge freezer, the kitchen is bright, modern and well designed. Tile floors.

A Nordan door with window and integrated blind leads to the side garden paved accessible access, with a wooden door with glass panels leading to the ample utility room.

Utility Room (2.5m x 1.6m)

The bright utility room adjacent to the kitchen offers matching lower and upper cabinets with a wooden countertop. A single sink with mixer tap sits beneath a window looking towards the side garden. Roller blind. Plumbed for dishwasher and washing machine. A convenient clothes pulley is attached to the ceiling. Extractor unit. The large capacity 300L hot water storage tank, with water heated from the solar PV, solar thermal and wood burner back boiler, with an immersion back up, is located in the utility room along with the controls for the solar thermal systems. Tile floor.

Self-contained Suite

Fully accessible, the ground floor suite offers a dual-aspect double bedroom, large shower room and convenient small kitchen area. Privacy is maintained as the suite is immediately next to the front door. Entering the door to the suite, the shelved kitchen area provides space for an induction hob, fridge, kettle and various kitchen accessories. Doors lead to the shower room and bedroom.

Guest-suite Bedroom (3.8m x 3.6m)

A bright dual-aspect double bedroom on the ground floor. Triple built in wardrobes, with sliding mirror doors, offers spacious hanging and shelf space. Curtains and curtain poles. Carpet. Dual heated (electric and hot water) skirting radiator.

Shower room (3.5m x 1.7m)

With a 3-piece white suite, comprising wall-mounted basin with shelf, mirror and cabinet above, WC and bidet, and a separate enclosed corner shower unit. The shower room has electric underfloor heating, a heated towel rail, extractor unit, and a frosted glass window providing natural light and ventilation.

 

Outside

The gardens of WithyWindle are fully landscaped and wrap around the house. Offering a log store, storage bins, water-feature, rockeries with feature Rowan tree and low timber picket-style fencing along both sides. The garden is low maintenance with seating area in the rocks & gravel 'Zen' garden. A drop-off parking space sits to the side of the house, with community parking spaces close by.

WithyWindle sits in a quiet area of The Park, Findhorn, just minutes from the Phoenix café, Universal Hall and Cullerne Gardens. Close to the edge of The Park there are wonderful walks through the woods and dunes to the superb white sandy beaches of Findhorn and the Moray coast path.

It is part of the Eco Village project linked to the Findhorn Foundation and Community aiming to produce a low overall carbon footprint. A small wind farm provides 'green' electricity for the community. The many programmes of the Foundation, focused on health, wellbeing and the environment are within minutes’ walk. The sky is big, the air is clean and the weather unusually sunny for the North of Scotland. The Park has a lovely vegan café restaurant, artisan pizza takeaway, large convenience store with organic food, household goods and gifts, the Moray Arts Centre and The Universal Hall, a beautiful theatre with an auditorium for 300.

The historic Findhorn coastal village is within a short walking distance, with boatyard, cafés, pubs, shop & Post Office, the Royal Findhorn Yacht Club, and a broad variety of sports and social opportunities.

Car share schemes are available locally, and the flat terrain is ideal for cycling. Organic veg box schemes are in operation and “The Phoenix” local community shop stocks a wide range of organic produce. The Phoenix Café was recently listed as one of Scotland’s best vegetarian restaurants in The Times, and La Boheme pizzeria is always popular. The more widely known Universal Hall and Moray Art Centre offer wonderful live events and exhibitions.

Forres, approximately 5 miles away, offers a wide range of amenities, shops and supermarkets including Tesco, Co-op and LIDL. There are primary schools in Kinloss and Forres with Forres Academy and the Drumduan Steiner School providing secondary education. Gordonstoun private school is approximately 9 miles away. A modern health centre in Forres has two GP practices with Dr. Grays hospital in Elgin providing a wider range of health services.

Findhorn is located just 5 miles northeast of Forres with easy access to the A96, the main road between Inverness and Aberdeen. Good transport links are available in Forres with a regular train and bus services to Inverness and Aberdeen and train links to further south, north & west available from Inverness, just 26 miles from Forres. Findhorn is well located for access to both Inverness International Airport, at Dalcross, approximately 20 miles, offering daily flights to London and multiple other domestic and international locations, and Aberdeen International Airport at Dyce, approximately 70 miles.

Please note that all measurements and distances are approximate and provided for guidance only.