Innerleithen | $1.2 million (895,000 British pounds)
An 18th-century farmhouse in the Tweed Valley
This former farmhouse and its series of low-slung outbuildings were built in the 18th century and first converted to a residence by an Edinburgh candlemaker, Thomas Bell, in 1805. Listed as a property of special interest by Scotland’s national heritage agency, the home was renovated over the centuries, and the current owners bought it in 2011.
The four-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom house is near Innerleithen, a village of 3,500 residents that once boasted a thriving knitwear industry. Part of the southeastern Scottish Borders region, Innerleithen is in the lush Tweed Valley, about 30 miles south of Edinburgh and about 60 miles east of Glasgow.
The 3,800-acre Glentress Forest, just north of the property, is home to cycling trails that draw enthusiasts from around the world. Innerleithen Co-Op, the village supermarket, is a short drive from the home. Neidpath Castle, the 14th-century fortress immortalized in Sir Walter Scott’s poem “The Maid of Neidpath,” is about eight miles west. The nearby Galashiels train station offers National Rail links to cities in Scotland and England.
There are no restrictions on most foreign buyers of residential property in Scotland. All buyers pay a Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, which rises to a maximum of 12 percent based on a home’s value. Buyers must engage a solicitor (a lawyer) to complete a home purchase. Legal fees average about 1,000 British pounds ($1,345).
Size: 4,157 square feet
Price per square foot: $289
Indoors: The sprawling main floor includes a formal entrance hall, a living room with a fireplace, a dining room and a library with built-in bookshelves. An eat-in kitchen features plank floors, hardwood cabinets and an Aga stove. Off the living room, a heated sunroom has wraparound views of the landscaped grounds. A mud room (called a boot room in Britain), opens to the garden and includes a century-old wooden door. This level also includes a pantry room and a half-bathroom.
Upstairs, the principal bedroom features its own sitting room with a working fireplace. There are three more bedrooms and two bathrooms on this level. A staircase climbs from the second floor to an attic bedroom with a vaulted ceiling. The sale does not include furniture.
Outdoor space: Accessed by a long driveway off the A72, a busy road, the ivy-covered stone house sits on five rolling acres. There is a walled garden behind the home with strawberries, raspberries, and vegetables, and a large paddock in front. A Celtic cross on an outside wall dates back to the farmhouse’s earliest days.
A row of connected outbuildings, clad in original 18th-century stone, extends from the back of the house, including four sheds, two garages and a boiler room. A three-bay stone carport has an electric vehicle charger.
Costs: Annual property taxes, called the council tax, are $6,530 (£4,855).
Contact: Hugh Rettie | Rettie | +44-0189-682-4074
Spean Bridge | $1.2 million (£895,000)
A ranch house with views of Ben Nevis, Scotland’s highest mountain
Set in the tiny hamlet of Achnabobane — Gaelic for “field of the white cow” — this 5,211-square-foot house was built in 2023. The seven-bedroom, seven-bathroom property has been a second home for the owners, who live in Inverness, 60 miles north.
Achnabobane is tucked within the village of Spean Bridge in the Highlands, Scotland’s largest council region. The Jacobite, a steam train that starred in the “Harry Potter” films as the Hogwarts Express, embarks from the town of Fort William to the south. The acclaimed Seasgair restaurant, inside the Inverlochy Castle hotel, is also in Fort William. The Commando Memorial, a 17-foot bronze statue that honors fallen soldiers of World War II, is a short drive from the property.
The sellers have earned as much as £270 per night from short-term rentals. To continue listing the property, a new owner would have to reapply to the local council for a short-term let license, local parlance for a rental permit.
Size: 5,211 square feet
Price per square foot: $231
Indoors: Flipping a traditional layout, most bedrooms are on the first floor, with social spaces upstairs. The home’s broad entrance hallway is flanked by five bedrooms, all with en suite bathrooms. The primary bathroom features a sleek stand-alone tub surrounded by windows. This floor also includes a small sitting room and a utility room.
Upstairs, soaring triangular windows brighten a living-dining space with 18-foot cathedral ceilings, hardwood floors, and a fireplace. The open kitchen includes white cabinetry and a granite-topped island and countertops. There are two more bedrooms with en suite bathrooms off the living area.
A second living and dining area on this floor, with its own kitchen, bathroom, and external entrance, can be closed off and used as guest quarters or rentals. Furniture is available by separate negotiation.
Outdoor space: Built on a hill, the house offers panoramic views of Ben Nevis, the highest peak in Britain, and the surrounding Grampian mountain range. Along with decking across the home’s lower level, a 65-foot balcony spans most of the second floor. The grounds include a small pond and a hot tub under a pergola.
Taxes: Annual council tax is $5,370 (£3,991).
Contact: Iona Lamont | Savills | +44-0141-222-5874
Pencaitland | $1.16 million (£865,000)
A stone house on the site of a former mill 17 miles east of Edinburgh
This four-bedroom, two-bathroom stone house was built in 1991 and designed to evoke a centuries-old grain mill formerly on the site.
The village of Pencaitland (population 1,675) is in the East Lothian region, which is on Scotland’s east coast. Glenkichie Distillery, a producer of Johnnie Walker Scotch whisky, is a mile west. The Pencaitland Parish Church, consecrated in 1242, is a short drive from the home. Rosearista Coffee House, popular with locals for hot drinks and baked goods, is just west.
Edinburgh Airport is about 25 miles west, and the Longniddry train station, six miles north of the home, offers connections across Britain.
Size: 3,038 square feet
Price per square foot: $376
Indoors: The centerpiece of the home is an open living and dining room with 20-foot ceilings, a fireplace with a cast-iron stove, and several glass doors that open to the grounds. The tiled eat-in kitchen, on the opposite end of the floor, features granite countertops, wood cabinets, and an Aga stove. There is a half-bathroom on this floor.
All four bedrooms, with vaulted ceilings and angled windows, are on the second floor, along with the home’s two bathrooms, which the owners remodeled. Built-in bookshelves line a second-floor hallway. A second-floor landing, with hardwood railings, overlooks the main floor. The sale does not include furniture.
Outdoor space: The landscaped 1.1-acre grounds include Rowan trees, symbols of protection in Scottish folklore. Apples, pears and plums grow nearby, including native Scottish varieties, along with red currants, gooseberries and blackberries. Conifer and beech trees border the property. A stone patio surrounds the house, and a pumpkin-shaped pergola on the grounds includes seating.
Costs: Annual council tax is $4,660 (£3,922).
Contact: Charlotte Canby | Rettie | +44-0131-202-7515
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