Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Stonehaven home bought for just £600 is now boutique guesthouse on sale at around £600,000

Shorehead Guesthouse owner Jane Davidson is selling up. Image: Kath Flannery/DC Thomson
Shorehead Guesthouse owner Jane Davidson is selling up. Image: Kath Flannery/DC Thomson

A boutique guesthouse in Stonehaven is for sale with an “offers over” asking price of nearly £600,000 about 70 years after the owner’s great-grandfather bought the property for £600.

Current owner Jane Davidson described her Shorehead Guesthouse as an “excellent business venture” that attracts visitors from all over the world.

Looking out over the town’s harbour, the property was refurbished in 2014.

It is now on the market with specialist business broker Bruce & Co at offers over £599,995.

The harbourfront guesthouse. Image: Jane Davidson

The detached, stone-built property has six individually styled lettings rooms and one-bedroom owners’ accommodation.

It also boasts an average five marks out of five from 251 reviewers on Tripadvisor.

Mrs Davidson said: “The guesthouse was my great-grandfather’s house.

“It has lots of history and is totally unique, with a fantastic position in the centre of Stonehaven harbourfront.”

Fishing, a surprise baby and a bomb

Fisherman Edward Davidson lived in the property as a tenant before buying it for £600 in cash in the early 1950s.

The current owner’s mother was a surprise delivery – the result of a teenage pregnancy no-one knew about – in an upstairs bedroom during the baby boom that followed the Second World War.

Mrs Davidson added: “The house was also bombed by a mine which drifted into the harbour after the war.”

Shorehead Guesthouse in Stonehaven. Image: Kath Flannery/DC Thomson

The property has been transformed since Mrs Davidson and her husband, Earle, took it on in 2014.

Their guesthouse opened on Hogmanay that year after a major internal renovation.

“It was absolutely rotten inside before,” Mrs Davidson told The Press and Journal.

She also recalled how the house was often bitterly cold and had no inside toilet when she grew up there. “It is now lovely and warm,” she added.

Last year was “hectic” for the guesthouse as tourism bounced back from the Covid lockdowns, she said.

She continued: “I had no idea how much tourism Stonehaven got until I went into the hospitality industry. We’ve had people visit us from all over the world.”

But a busy summer holiday season in 2014 left her exhausted, with a repetitive strain injury, and now she just wants to enjoy the quiet life.

Time to slow down

Mrs Davidson, who also “dabbles in” professional interior design, said there were lots of options for the next owner of the guesthouse to develop it.

“I just want to slow down a bit now, and maybe take a part-time job and enjoy life.”

I had no idea how much tourism Stonehaven got until I went into the hospitality industry.”

Jane Davidson, owner, Shorehead Guesthouse, Stonehaven.

She’s been running the guesthouse single-handedly since her husband found a job to keep some money coming in during the pandemic.

“It’s been absolutely hectic and it’s going to be very busy again this summer,” she said, adding many of her guests from overseas saw Stonehaven as a convenient base for visiting Edinburgh and the Highlands, as well as Aberdeenshire, during one holiday.

Conversation