Email Morven House enquiries & reservations: bookscotland@madbookings.com
Other places to stay in and around Carnoustie
Originally
built in 1808 for a local shipping magnate, Morven House has been extensively
renovated to provide high quality bed and breakfast accommodation in classic
surroundings.
At Morven House we continue to improve our facilities
and now our guests can benefit from the following additional services:
· Free High Speed Wireless Internet available in all guest rooms
· PC and Printer available to download e-mail or plan visits to
local attractions
The house is situated on the south side of Carnoustie with panoramic views over the championship golf course making Morven House an ideal location for golfing in Scotland.
Morven House Accommodation
Morven House has seven letting bedrooms each with private
facilities with either a bath or shower.
All rooms are decorated to a very high standard and equipped with colour
television, radio, tea and coffee making facilities and high speed wireless
Internet Access.
Although the house is centrally heated, additional heating facilities
are provided in both the bedroom and bathroom for your comfort.
If you wish to play golf in St Andrews the courses are just 20 minutes
away by car.
The 7 comfortable letting bedrooms each have private facilities.
Three acres of walled grounds provide guests with privacy, pleasant
surroundings and ample off road parking, the grounds are illuminated after
dark for guests safety and added security.
The property is centrally heated, double glazed throughout
and all rooms are equipped with colour television, radio, free Wireless
Internet access, and tea and coffee making facilities. A private breakfast
room is provided for guests.
Although Carnoustie is well known for its famous golf course, Angus and Tayside is a beautiful region with many equally well known attractions, it is an ideal location centrally located and perfect for a Scottish holiday.
Glamis Castle is just 10 miles away and is most famous for being the childhood home of both the Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Mother.
Eight miles away in Arbroath the opportunity exists to taste the local
delicacy, the Arbroath Smokie. The Smokie is a whole haddock which is
slowly cooked over hardwood chips.
Unlike a kipper (smoked herring) the Smokie is not so heavily smoked and
retains a moist freshness.
Smokies are available to order for breakfast. They are excellent on their own or together with poached egg and toast.
Although Morven House is a comparatively large Bed and Breakfast, whenever
there is a golf tournament in the town or in nearby St Andrews we are
always fully booked and reservations as much as 12 months ahead are advisable.
Also in the first week of September the Carnoustie course hosts the ‘Crows
Nest Tassie’ competition. If you plan to come to this event please
make your reservation as soon as your entry to the competition is confirmed.
July and August are particularly busy months, as are the English spring
and autumn holidays which are in May and September.
How to find us:
From Dundee take the A92 dual carriageway heading for Arbroath and drive
for approximately 7 miles. You will be travelling east, north east with
the coast line on your right. Carnoustie Town Centre is clearly sign posted
to the left. Follow the road to the T-junction and turn left.
Follow the single carriageway for approximately 1.5 miles to the roundabout and take the first exit, which is a left turn. Continue heading into the centre of Carnoustie and you will pass the Corner Hotel on your right and then a mix of small shops and houses before arriving at a crossroads where you turn left.
The cross roads is easily identified as the Stags Head pub is on the right hand side. Morven House is the large mansion house at the top of the hill on the left hand side.
If you arrive in Carnoustie via the coast road you will travel through Broughty Ferry, Monifieth and Barry. In this case look for the Stags Head public house in Carnoustie and turn left at the junction. Morven House is the large mansion house at the top of the hill.
From the north you will travel through Arbroath on the A92 and join the
dual carriageway. Take the exit sign posted Carnoustie and head into the
town centre. Drive through the town until you see the Stags Head pub on
the left hand side of the cross roads, turn right at the crossroads, Morven
House is the large mansion house at the top of the hill on the left hand
side.
A train service is available from both north and south. When arriving
at Carnoustie station just give us a call and we will come and collect
you
History:
A question mark remains over exactly how old the property may
be. Local maps of the area refer to the adjacent road as ‘Borries
Bray’ and show a building on the present location dating back as
far as 1808. However, the Dundee Evening Telegraph included an article
in its publication on Saturday 6th March 1965 which states that John Borrie
built the house in 1845.
John Borrie started life as a tobacconist but quickly developed a large fleet of vessels which plied their trade in Jute, a commodity that at the time was key to the local economy. Many of the large houses in the area, particularly in nearby Broughty Ferry were built by these wealthy merchants known as ‘Jute Barons’.
John was fanatical about his business and mounted a telescope on the
roof of the house so that he may scan and sweep the Tay approaches hoping
to pick out a sail and identify his vessels.
When he was satisfied that he had his boat sighted he would mount his
horse and ride to the port meeting the first boat along side.
Mr Jock Borrie, great grandson of John Borrie has provided much of the
history of the property and puts forward a reasoned argument that supports
the local story that a ghost can be heard in the house after dark.
The sound of pacing has been reported by locals who frequented Morven House when it operated a bar open to non-residents. Ironically the same report has not been made by guests staying in the house. Jock Borrie reports that the compulsive floor pacing may be traceable to the master bedroom. Post 1850 John Borrie lived celibataire after the death of his wife and mother to his two children at the age of 29. In his final years the gentlemen tormented himself over family and fortune.
The passage of ownership of the property is not so clear in the early
1900’s but it was reported that the telescope on the roof was used
by a resident in the late 1930’s to once again sweep the Tay approaches.
This time it is said that the occupant of the house was spying on the
movements of vessels at the start of the second world war.
The oldest known picture of Morven House was taken in 1946 by Jimmy Graham
an accountant who purchased the building then known as Agra Bank as a
virtual ruin. Mr Graham and his family were the first to operate a bed
and breakfast from the property, serving the mainly Glasgow community
who used to holiday in Carnoustie and nearby Arbroath.
Due to the demand in the summer for accommodation in this area, Mr Graham’s
children used to volunteer to sleep in tents in the garden so that their
rooms may be let to visitors.
In mid 1978 the property was sold to Mr & Mrs Taylor who established
the business as a hotel and obtained a drinks licence. We took over the
business in 1989 and although the bar has now closed and the business
concentrates on providing high quality bed and breakfast accommodation,
our mark in Carnoustie has been made. 1990 saw the first Morven Beer Festival,
held to raise money for charity. So successful was the event that we went
on to hold beer festivals in 1991, 92, 93 and 94 with 1993 being the largest
real ale beer festival to be held in Scotland at that time.
The architectural style of Morven House is not restricted to the shores
of the UK. Similar buildings can be found in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the
public buildings including the town hall built in the early 1800’s
are very similar to Morven House. The latest information from Jock Borrie
is based on research from the WL Crowther Library in Tasmania. The public
buildings in Murray Street, Tasmania were thought to be convict built
around the start of the 1800’s and clearly show a resemblance to
Morven House.
If on a golfing holiday, Carnoustie provides an ideal location from which
to explore the variety of golf available in Angus and Fife. Morven House
over looks the Carnoustie Championship Course and from the front facing
bedrooms the Old Course, St. Andrews is visible on the opposite bank of
the Tay estuary.
The Old Course can be played by visiting golfers through a ballot system. Details are available on request. More than 30 other courses are within 30 minutes drive of Carnoustie and most can be pre-booked for you, in most cases the full green fee is required in advance, we can process this for you. Access to the Carnoustie Championship is limited by demand. Visitors may make reservations through Morven House, the full green fee is required at the time of booking.
Of course Carnoustie is most famous for Golf and The Championship Course.
Some may not be aware that many courses in Scotland, including Carnoustie
and St. Andrews, are public courses. At a length of 7397 yards the Carnoustie
links course is one of the greatest tests of golf and if the wind is blowing,
an even greater test of your own stamina. In 1975 Tom Watson conquered
the course and the elements, to become the 5th Open Golf Champion at Carnoustie.
In 1994 the links management committee together with Scottish Enterprise
put in place a plan to restore the course and promote it as The Links
Course, providing a natural and challenging test for every golfer. The
reward for this work was the 1995 and 1996 Scottish Open Championships.
Both tournaments were very closely fought with the course arguably being
the winner on both occasions. Wayne Riley and Ian Woosnam claimed the
trophies.
Perhaps beyond everyone’s expectation was the announcement that Carnoustie would host the 1999 Open. The wind blew on the first two days and many established golfers, most notably David Love III, were quick to blame the green keepers for manipulating the course to make it even harder than usual. Even the new breed of young golfers found the going tough with Garcia failing to live up to his considerable promise and no one heard the Tiger roar
Instead it was left to two unlikely heroes to stage what must be one of the most remarkable finishes in tournament history. John Van de Veldt, 3 up and heading for the 18th. After ignoring the fairway completely as he headed for the green, his third shot found the Barry Burn. A drop and a penalty stroke was the only option, but John decided to provide the fans with the a performance that demanded a stage, as he removed his shoes and socks, rolled up his trousers and headed into the water.
Some three hours earlier Paul Lawrie had left the course and under instructions from his coach headed for the practice ground, in golf anything can happen and on this Sunday it did. The three way play off over the 16th, 17th and 18th gave Lawrie his first major tournament win and stardom for this little known golfer from Aberdeen.
Email Morven House enquiries & reservations: bookscotland@madbookings.com
