Modernist home, historic garden near superb golf courses, beaches & Edinburgh

LEUCHIE WALLED GARDEN - close to North Berwick, Scotland's finest beaches and world class links golf courses
A modernist home. A historic garden. Entirely yours.
North Berwick, East Lothian · Sleeps 12 · Six bedrooms · Six bathrooms · Exclusive use

Up a long driveway, you might expect something grand and Gothic. What you find is entirely different.

Leuchie (pronounced 'Lou-key') is a mid-century modernist house — low, white-rendered, geometric, floor-to-ceiling glass — sitting inside a 200-year-old walled garden on the East Lothian coast. Designed in 1960 by celebrated Scottish architect James Dunbar-Nasmith, it was featured in Thames & Hudson's Iconic British Houses and described by The Observer as "the sort of home you would expect to find hidden in the Hollywood Hills." It has also appeared in Condé Nast Traveller and The Times: 25 Stylish UK Stays.

From the moment your party arrives, the house and its five acres are yours entirely. No other guests. No shared spaces. No hotel timetables. Just one exceptional property, one group, one occasion.

THE HOUSE

The heart of the house is the open-plan drawing and dining room — floor-to-ceiling glass on two sides, three centuries of Dalrymple family portraits on the walls, and an Ercol dining table that seats twelve. The glass floods the room with natural light and frames the walled garden throughout the day. In the evening, with fires lit, it becomes the most comfortable room in which to do nothing at all.

The single-storey layout — every room on one level, wide doorways throughout, step-free access — means three generations can move through the house with equal ease. It is genuinely accessible in a way that few properties of this quality are.

Beyond the main living space: a snooker room; a games room with table tennis and darts; a library of family books accumulated over three centuries; a grand piano; a television room with a large screen. Three open fires, generously stocked with logs from the estate woodland.

The kitchen is well-equipped for serious cooking: an original AGA, a modern range cooker, two fridges, two dishwashers, a washing machine and a tumble dryer. A second service kitchen adjoins the main space — essential for groups who want to cook together without getting in each other's way.

THE BEDROOMS

Six individually designed bedrooms, all different. Each blends mid-century lines with a deep colour palette, antique furniture, original artwork and contemporary linens. Superlative mattresses and pillows throughout. Luxury Verden skincare products in every bathroom. Every bedroom opens onto the garden or the wider estate.

GARDEN WING — overlooking the walled garden:

· Garden Suite — Super-king double, en suite bathroom with floor-standing bathtub and separate wet room shower. The finest bedroom in the house; the one guests ask for by name.
· Garden Super King — Super-king zip-link (double or twin), private bathroom. Direct garden views. Light-filled and quietly luxurious.
· Garden King — King double, en suite with bath and shower. Warm and well-proportioned, garden immediately outside the window.

COTTAGE WING — views across the East Lothian countryside:

· Cottage King — King double, en suite shower room. Ground floor. Quiet and private, with its own distinct character.
· Cottage Super King — Super-king zip-link (double or twin), shared shower room. First floor, with an elevated perspective across the countryside.
· Cottage Twin — Twin room, shared shower room. First floor. The ideal room for two guests travelling together — children, close friends, or the practical pairing every large group needs.

THE WALLED GARDEN

Five acres enclosed by walls built two hundred years ago by Napoleonic prisoners of war. The garden is a sun trap in summer and a place of particular quiet in winter. It is entirely private.

On the lawn: a newly resurfaced tennis court, a croquet lawn, a two-hole golf pitching range, a fire pit on the terrace for evenings that don't want to end. A kitchen garden produces flowers, fruit and vegetables in season — guests are welcome to pick freely.

Beyond the walled garden: sixty acres of eighteenth-century landscaped grounds to explore. In February the estate woods fill with snowdrops and aconites. In spring the drive is lined with daffodils and cherry blossom. The grounds reach to the edge of the East Lothian countryside; a footpath through the estate leads to Seacliff Beach in forty-five minutes on foot.

BEYOND THE GATES

North Berwick — a mile down the road, regularly voted the best place to live in Scotland — has a harbour, excellent restaurants, independent shops, and a year-round community. The East Lothian coast stretches in both directions from the gate.

GOLF: Muirfield, Archerfield, Gullane No.1 and the North Berwick West Links are all within twenty minutes. The Renaissance Club, three times host to the Scottish Open, is fifteen minutes. The Dalrymple family have played golf in North Berwick since 1832; Hew knows these courses as well as anyone and is glad to advise on booking, courses and caddies.

BEACHES: Seacliff Beach — one of the finest in Britain, with the Bass Rock visible offshore — is a ten-minute drive or forty-five minutes on foot through the estate. Yellowcraig, Tyninghame and North Berwick's own East and West bays are all within fifteen minutes.

EDINBURGH: Thirty minutes by train from North Berwick station, a mile from the gate. The hourly service runs throughout the day — leave the car at Leuchie and arrive in the city on foot.

YOUR HOSTS

Hew and Janey Dalrymple have lived at Leuchie for many years and know it in every detail. Fresh flowers from the garden are placed throughout the house before you arrive. Hew is available from the moment you book — for recommendations, arrangements, or simply questions. He can suggest the right chef for a celebration dinner, the best tee time at the right course, or the walk that rewards most at this time of year.

Private chef hire is available for welcome feasts, celebration dinners or the duration of a longer stay. Speak to Hew at the time of booking.

Two well-behaved dogs are welcome.

GOOD FOR

· Milestone birthdays and anniversary celebrations
· Multi-generational family weeks
· Weddings — garden ceremonies and marquee receptions in the walled garden
· Golf escapes — the finest courses in Scotland within twenty minutes
· Corporate retreats, creative away-days, leadership gatherings
· Christmas and New Year house parties

AT A GLANCE

Sleeps: 12 guests · Six bedrooms · Six bathrooms
Exclusive use: always — the house is never shared
Garden: Five acres enclosed · Tennis · Croquet · Golf pitching range · Firepit
Inside: Snooker room · Games room · Library · Grand piano · Three open fires · TV room
Kitchen: AGA · Range cooker · Two fridges · Two dishwashers
Eco: Ground source heat pump · High-specification insulation
Dogs: Two well-behaved dogs welcome
Accessibility: Ground-floor layout · Wide doorways · Step-free access throughout
Edinburgh: 28 miles · 30 minutes by train · 40 minutes by car
Edinburgh Airport: 30 miles · 50 minutes by car
North Berwick: 1 mile · 20 minutes on foot
Muirfield: 8 miles · 20 minutes by car

Minimum stay: three nights. Leuchie typically books six to twelve months ahead for peak summer weekends and school holiday periods. Winter and shoulder season dates are often available at shorter notice — and the house in winter, fires lit and the garden quiet, has a beauty that summer guests never see.