Boat House Garden, East Lothian

Victorian boat house

This Victorian boat house sits on the edge of a lake in East Lothian, surrounded by woodland and wildlife.  The structure was redesigned by architects WT Architecture and painstakingly rebuilt and remodelled by building contractor PJM Contracts.  The end result is a stunning, award-winning building which provides studio space alongside a timber-clad bothy offering waterside accommodation and storage space for kayaks.

The unseen – design considerations

The development of the landscape design around these two buildings included resolving practical issues such as access, levels and dealing with complex utilities underneath the driveway and between buildings.  The steeply sloping track leading to the boat house provides a wonderful ‘reveal’ but in wet weather it turned into an impromptu cascade, so careful consideration was given to drainage and channelling rainwater away from the buildings.

Design objectives

The real magic of this project is the setting, where woodland tumbles down to the water’s edge.  The area is teeming with wildlife.  The restrained use of natural materials by the architects on the buildings allow them to stand cleanly and simply.  The objective with the landscape design was to blend and restore rather than in any way attempt to improve on or compete with the natural setting.

Timber jetty, fire pit area and hot tub

For the jetty, decked area and slipway I opted to angle the jetty so it drew the eye down the lake rather than across  (the lake is narrow but long).  A smokeless fire pit surrounded by a curving log wall seat is located close to the water’s edge with views onto the water.  A wood-burning hot tub is tucked in just behind the log wall, again enjoying a lakeside location as well as excellent views of both the woodland, lake, boat house and bothy.  All of these features were carefully installed by Water Gems.

Soft landscaping

An area of grass connects the various buildings, jetty and fire pit.  This is sown with a species rich mix of grasses and low growing wildflowers and requires only intermittent mowing.  Steeply sloping areas have been planted with a selection of native ferns including Dryopteris Felix Mas and Blechnum Spicant.  These will blend with the existing flora whilst offering some green through the winter months.

Lighting

This rural setting can be, by its very nature, extremely dark at night and so lighting to allow visitors to reach the boat house safely on foot was necessary.  Careful consideration was given to avoiding light pollution and causing as little disruption to wildlife as possible.  Warm white light, focal point specific light fittings and an easily controlled system were all installed.  (The photos here suggest the lights are brighter than they are in reality.)  The end result, thanks to installation by MGD Electrical, is both magical and practical.