Breaking down the Borders

The weekend is coming up. Edinburgh is heaving with tourists, stag and hen dos and Festival visitors, and you’re longing for some peace and quiet. But you’ve had your summer holiday – so where do you go for a quick escape?

You head for the Borders, where the sheep outnumber the 116,840 people living here, all spread across 4732 km², compared with more than half a million (531,370) people in Edinburgh (and that’s just the permanent residents) – all crammed into 264 km².  So, if you dream of going for a walk and seeing hardly anyone else, this could be the place for you. 

To get to the Borders, you can drive, jump on a bus or take the train (depending on your chosen arrival point). Journey times are around an hour for train or car, and about an hour and a half by bus. But if you choose the train, you’ll be rewarded with better views.

The Borders railway reopened in 2015, after an absence of 46 years, reconnecting Edinburgh with Galashiels, the biggest town in the Borders.  As you leave Waverley, you’ll quickly see the city and its suburbs melt away to be replaced by rolling hills, acres of greenery and rivers and burns criss-crossing the landscape. 

Stow, Galashiels and Tweedbank

The first train stop in the Borders is Stow, where you might be tempted to break your journey and have a look around. It’s a picturesque little village, with the magnificent St Mary of Wedale church and ancient ruins, as well as a packhorse bridge, believed to date back to the 17^th century.

Carry on just a little further and you reach Galashiels – with its stunning view of the Eildon Hills.  Outdoors enthusiasts will welcome the chance to walk in the hills and woodlands, to get away from it all.  For those preferring to take in some culture, The Great Tapestry of Scotland, which tells the country’s story in fabric form, has its home here.

If you’re hungry, two restaurants stand out: Café Auberge, which offers bistro classics; and award-winning Nepalese restaurant 1953, named after the year Everest was conquered. There’s also a great café, The Coffee Tree, offering an ever-changing selection of lunch, brunch and bakes.   

Travellers staying on to the end of the line will arrive at Tweedbank station, a few miles beyond Galashiels. If you’ve built up a thirst during your journey, the station is a short walk from Tempest Brewery, where you can have a beer and a burger (and a brewery tour if you’re there on a Saturday).

Escaping to the Borders is an easy day trip from Edinburgh, so you can pack a lot in. But if you want to make a weekend of it, and find a base to explore from, the area offers plenty of choice.

Prefer the old to the new? The Kingsknowes hotel on the outskirts of Galashiels is a handsome, red-sandstone, turreted hotel, originally built in 1869, for a mill owner, back when the town was famed for its textiles.   

The hotel has a garden overlooking the river Tweed, and a listed conservatory covered in grape vines (and grapes at the right time of year). There would be a regular queue here to see it, if it were in Edinburgh, for the pictures alone. It’s a very pleasant spot for coffee, lunch or dinner, and is also available for weddings and events.

Old Melrose Estate

Melrose and beyond

Just a few miles from Galashiels is Melrose, one of the prettiest towns in the Borders. Its  main feature, Melrose Abbey, was founded by King David I in 1136, and the heart of Robert the Bruce is said to be buried there.

There are links to even more ancient history close by, in the village of Newstead. It was once home to the Romans, who built the fort and settlement of Trimontium there around AD 80. You can still see the outline of their amphitheatre in a grassy field.

Melrose also has strong historic sporting links. For rugby fans, the town needs no introduction. It’s world-famous as the birthplace of rugby sevens, invented here in 1883.

Visitors to the town will find plenty of decent coffee shops, including an Edinburgh favourite – Twelve Triangles bakery.  You might also like to check out Haus and Co, which sells clothing, bags, jewellery and homewares, as well as coffee and cakes.

Fine-dining fans need not be worried that they have been overlooked. Slightly off the beaten track, on the other side of the Tweed from Melrose, The Hoebridge, and Seasons, with its Bib Gourmand, are well worth the detour. 

Melrose offers many pleasant walks, including along by the river and around its two beautiful National Trust gardens: Priorwood and Harmony Garden, just a few steps away from each other.

Priorwood’s orchard, next to the abbey, is home to more than 70 varieties of heritage apples. Harmony Garden, spread out over three acres, contains Harmony House, a 219-year-old Georgian mansion. Its grounds are the location of the annual Borders Book Festival, which attracts numerous well-known authors and their readers. 

There’s another fine garden with literary links located nearby, at Abbotsford, the home of local hero, Sir Walter Scott. Edinburgh was his birthplace, and he is celebrated with that magnificent memorial on Princes Street. But he is also a Borders icon who introduced the region to the world through his poems and novels. You’ll see references to him throughout the area, including statues, and a large mural in Galashiels. 

In addition to his home, which looks like a Disney castle in the distance, and its outstanding garden and grounds, the estate has a café, as well as woodland and riverside walks – perfect if you’re planning to bring your hound. 

This is just a tiny snapshot of what the Borders has to offer – there is so much more to discover, including other historic and picturesque towns such as Kelso, Duns, Selkirk,  Jedburgh and Peebles.

You can also travel on to the seaside, to Eyemouth and St Abbs, for some very different scenery. Here, you can swop rolling hills, stately homes and strolls by the river, for dramatic cliffs, harbours and sandy beaches, providing the perfect finale for your trip to one of Scotland’s most beautiful regions. 

 Abbotsford