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| Let’s move to Helensburgh, Argyll & Bute: ‘The air seems to sparkle’ | Let’s move to Helensburgh, Argyll & Bute: ‘The air seems to sparkle’ |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| I’m surprised more artists haven’t settled here, but a quick eye on local history shows they were beaten to it by Johnny Posh | |
| Tom Dyckhoff | |
| Fri 16 Jun 2017 16.30 BST | |
| Last modified on Fri 1 Dec 2017 14.48 GMT | |
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| What’s going for it? There’s no escaping the waters in Helensburgh. They’re in front of you (the Clyde), to the side (Gare Loch) and behind (Loch Lomond). So much liquid does something funny to the light – the air seems to sparkle, while the brooding landscape of smoky, blue-green hills bleeds into the sea like watercolour flicked from a brush. I’m surprised more artists haven’t settled here, but local history shows they were beaten to it by Johnny Posh. Helensburgh was only magicked into existence in the late 18th century when Sir James Colquhoun bought the land and willed a town to appear, named after his wife, Lady Helen (of the notorious Sutherlands). Glasgow’s 1% moved in soon after, escaping the noxious fumes of the city. You still have to pay through the nose for its sparkling air; Helensburgh remains one of Scotland’s wealthiest towns, although it’s far too genteel to say so. If it were a few hundred miles south, it’d be all air kisses and poodle parlours, but that’s the sign of real wealth – discretion. | What’s going for it? There’s no escaping the waters in Helensburgh. They’re in front of you (the Clyde), to the side (Gare Loch) and behind (Loch Lomond). So much liquid does something funny to the light – the air seems to sparkle, while the brooding landscape of smoky, blue-green hills bleeds into the sea like watercolour flicked from a brush. I’m surprised more artists haven’t settled here, but local history shows they were beaten to it by Johnny Posh. Helensburgh was only magicked into existence in the late 18th century when Sir James Colquhoun bought the land and willed a town to appear, named after his wife, Lady Helen (of the notorious Sutherlands). Glasgow’s 1% moved in soon after, escaping the noxious fumes of the city. You still have to pay through the nose for its sparkling air; Helensburgh remains one of Scotland’s wealthiest towns, although it’s far too genteel to say so. If it were a few hundred miles south, it’d be all air kisses and poodle parlours, but that’s the sign of real wealth – discretion. |
| The case against Not cheap. And not for those who hanker after hullabaloo: it’s all cherry blossom and villas round here. You don’t mind having a large number of nuclear weapons on your doorstep, do you? Faslane submarine base makes this either the safest, or most dangerous, spot in the country. | The case against Not cheap. And not for those who hanker after hullabaloo: it’s all cherry blossom and villas round here. You don’t mind having a large number of nuclear weapons on your doorstep, do you? Faslane submarine base makes this either the safest, or most dangerous, spot in the country. |
| Well connected? Two stations: Helensburgh Central has two trains an hour to Glasgow (41-46 mins); Helensburgh Upper has a few trains a day to Glasgow (45 mins), Oban (2 hours 20 mins) and Fort William (3 hours). Driving: 45-50 mins to Glasgow. | Well connected? Two stations: Helensburgh Central has two trains an hour to Glasgow (41-46 mins); Helensburgh Upper has a few trains a day to Glasgow (45 mins), Oban (2 hours 20 mins) and Fort William (3 hours). Driving: 45-50 mins to Glasgow. |
| Schools Primaries: John Logie Baird and St Joseph’s Catholic are “good”; Colgrain, Hermitage and Rhu are mostly “very good”. Secondaries: Hermitage Academy is mostly “satisfactory”. | Schools Primaries: John Logie Baird and St Joseph’s Catholic are “good”; Colgrain, Hermitage and Rhu are mostly “very good”. Secondaries: Hermitage Academy is mostly “satisfactory”. |
| Hang out at… The tearoom at Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s beautiful Hill House. | Hang out at… The tearoom at Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s beautiful Hill House. |
| Where to buy It’s mostly a late Victorian and Edwardian affair, on a grid of wide, genteel streets. Close to the Sinclair Street spine and along the waterfront, you’ll find denser town houses and cottages. Detacheds are the mainstay, though, from plum waterfront villas to mansions in the Upper West Side, towards Hill House, and east to Henry Bell Street, many divided into flats. Detacheds and town houses, £150,000-£650,000. Terraces and cottages, £120,000-£150,000. Flats, £60,000-£400,000. Rentals: a one-bedroom flat, £450-£600pcm; a three-bed house, £650-£1,000pcm. | Where to buy It’s mostly a late Victorian and Edwardian affair, on a grid of wide, genteel streets. Close to the Sinclair Street spine and along the waterfront, you’ll find denser town houses and cottages. Detacheds are the mainstay, though, from plum waterfront villas to mansions in the Upper West Side, towards Hill House, and east to Henry Bell Street, many divided into flats. Detacheds and town houses, £150,000-£650,000. Terraces and cottages, £120,000-£150,000. Flats, £60,000-£400,000. Rentals: a one-bedroom flat, £450-£600pcm; a three-bed house, £650-£1,000pcm. |
| Bargain of the week A two-bed flat in a traditional red, sandstone tenement building, £89,950, clydeproperty.co.uk. | Bargain of the week A two-bed flat in a traditional red, sandstone tenement building, £89,950, clydeproperty.co.uk. |
| From the streets | From the streets |
| Carol Hayden “We just moved here from the West Midlands to be near the sea and hills. Very friendly; sunsets over the Clyde; the Tower cinema in an old church; being able to walk out of our front door and up 300 metres for views across Scotland.” | Carol Hayden “We just moved here from the West Midlands to be near the sea and hills. Very friendly; sunsets over the Clyde; the Tower cinema in an old church; being able to walk out of our front door and up 300 metres for views across Scotland.” |
| Jenny Dalrymple “Delicious home baking at Ardardan, a walled garden centre by the Clyde.” | Jenny Dalrymple “Delicious home baking at Ardardan, a walled garden centre by the Clyde.” |
| • Live in Helensburgh? Join the debate below. | • Live in Helensburgh? Join the debate below. |
| Do you live in Canvey Island, Essex? Do you have a favourite haunt or a pet hate? If so, email lets.move@theguardian.com by Tuesday 20 June. | Do you live in Canvey Island, Essex? Do you have a favourite haunt or a pet hate? If so, email lets.move@theguardian.com by Tuesday 20 June. |
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