This Old Stable Has Become Scotland's Chicest Country Escape

"Arranged around a pretty courtyard - complete with Italian-style water fountain, Romanesque temple and a skyline-poking clocktower - what was once a humble home for horses has now been transformed into one of Scotland's most inviting exclusive-use properties, just 30 minutes south of Edinburgh. There are 16 bedrooms and suites, each individually and impeccably designed; a posh drawing room; two lounges; a bar; a grand dining room; a cinema room; and even an enormous, fully-equipped kitchen (on top of the professional kitchen hiding in the background)."

"While Penicuik's stage is now set for weddings, gatherings and parties of all manner, it was actually a series of unfortunate events that led to its current iteration. Once part of one of Scotland's grandest estates and a destination for society occasions, the lavish neighboring 'Old Penicuik House,' became untenable for the Clerk family - owners of the estate since 1654 - in the late 19th century, forcing them to put it up for sale and let it to tenants in the meantime."

"In 1899, disaster struck: the roof caught fire and a mass rescue effort ensued. Miraculously, the painted ceilings were the only element lost, and artworks, furnishings and collectibles were saved - for a time arranged on the front lawn. Unsellable and unlettable, Old Penicuik House fell to ruin over the next century, while the Clerk family renovated and moved into the neighboring stable block, first built in the mid 1700s."

Penicuik House occupies a former stable block converted into an exclusive-use rental just 30 minutes south of Edinburgh. The property is arranged around an Italian-style courtyard with a water fountain, Romanesque temple and a skyline-poking clocktower. The house contains 16 individually designed bedrooms and suites, a posh drawing room, two lounges, a bar, a grand dining room, a cinema room and an enormous fully-equipped kitchen alongside a professional kitchen. The neighboring Old Penicuik House suffered a roof fire in 1899 that destroyed painted ceilings while artworks and furnishings were rescued. Old Penicuik fell to ruin and the Clerk family renovated and moved into the stable block; Ed Clerk, part of the family's 14th generation, later took over the estate's care.

Read at Elite Traveler