Living in Newport-on-Tay.

Newport feels established. Tree-lined streets, big Victorian villas, a strong community, and a quiet confidence. The riverside is the showpiece — wide pavements, mature trees, that view. It's commuter-friendly to Dundee but feels nothing like a suburb.

Some of the most striking houses in north Fife. Grand Victorian and Edwardian villas line the streets above the river, built when Newport was a desirable Dundee retreat. Stone, generous proportions, original features, mature gardens. Inland and toward the bridge you find solid post-war and modern family homes.

• Period sandstone needing lime-based pointing — modern cement does real damage on these grand houses
• Salt and wind from the Tay — less ferocious than the North Sea, but very real
• Mature gardens with established trees that need careful annual care
• Original timber bay windows that benefit from proper prep and the right paint
• Long driveways that need consistent maintenance to look right

• Newport Riverside — the walk along the Tay with the bridge as backdrop
• Tay Bridgehead and the foreshore — paths in both directions
• Wormit and Balmerino — short drives to two more lovely riverside villages
• Forgan Reserve — quiet woodland and meadow walks south of town

Newport homeowners tend to take pride in their houses, and the houses deserve it. Our advice: invest in the right materials, not the cheapest. A repaint with proper prep on a Newport villa lasts a decade. A rushed job lasts two winters. The same is true of the gardens.