Tweed Valley
Tweed Valley
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===Innerleithen=== Phone code: +44 (0)1896
Seven miles east of Peebles is the village of Innerleithen, home of Robert Smail's Printing Works, on the main street, where you can see how printing was done at the beginning of the 20th century. You can watch the printer at work on the original machinery and even try your hand at typesetting. Info: Easter and 1 May-30 Sep Mon-Sat 1000-1300 and 1400-1700, Sun 1400-1700; weekends only in Oct Sat 1000-1300 and 1400-1700, Sun 1400-1700. £2.50, £1.70. Tel 830206 (NTS).
There are some excellent places to stay and eat in Innerleithen, including the Traquair Arms Hotel & Restaurant, on the Traquair Rd, Tel 830229, Email Traquair Arms A local favourite for its fine food and real ales.
Caddon View, 14 Pirn Rd, Tel 830208, Email Caddonview
There's a campsite at Tweedside Caravan Park on Montgomery St, Tel 831271, open Apr-Oct. Note that accommodation is usually fully booked during the Traquair Fair in Aug. For great ice cream, head for Caldwell's on the High St. First Edinburgh, Tel 01721-720181, bus No 62 runs regularly to Innerleithen and Peebles from Edinburgh.
Traquair House
The big attraction in these parts is the amazing Traquair House, one of Scotland's great country houses. It lies about a mile south of Innerleithen, on the south side of the Tweed. Traquair is the oldest continually inhabited house in the country and is still owned by the Maxwell Stuarts, who have been living here since 1491. Its history goes much further back, however, and parts of the house are believed to date from the 12th century. The original Tower House was added to over the next five centuries, and most of what you see today dates from the mid-17th century. It has been visited by no fewer than 27 monarchs, including Mary, Queen of Scots, who stayed here with her husband, Darnley, in 1566. The place is steeped in Jacobite history, but the family paid for its Catholic principles. The fourth earl was imprisoned in the Tower of London, and sentenced to death, for his part in the Jacobite rising of 1715, but managed to escape with the help of his wife who smuggled him out disguised as a maid. The fifth earl served two years in the Tower of London for his support of Bonnie Prince Charlie in 1745. By the turn of the 18th century the family had lost most of its estates and had neither the money nor the motivation to undertake any major rebuilding. As a result, visiting Traquair is genuinely like stepping back in time, and there's a uniquely nostalgic and spooky atmosphere missing from so many other historic houses. One of the most interesting rooms is the priest's room, where a succession of resident priests lived in hiding until the Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829 allowed them to give mass. Amongst the many fascinating relics is the cradle used by Mary, Queen of Scots for her son, James VI, and some letters written by the Stuart pretenders. Also worth seeing are the gardens, where you'll find a maze, craft shops, a cottage tearoom and an 18th-century working brewery producing several ales including Bear Ale and Jacobite Ale, which can be purchased in the tearoom and gift shop. A craft and music fair is held in the grounds of the house every August. Info: Apr-Jun and Sep-Oct daily 1230-1730; Jun-Aug daily 1030-1730; £5.30 (£2.80 child). Tel 830323. Bus No C1 runs once a day to Traquair from Peebles.
Galashiels
At the junction of the A72 and A7 Edinburgh-Carlisle road is the gritty, workmanlike textile town of Galashiels, strung out along the banks of the Gala river for more than two miles. Galashiels is one the largest towns in the Borders region, and a transport hub, but there's precious little to detain passing tourists. There are frequent buses to and from Edinburgh (1 hr 25 mins); Peebles, Melrose (20 mins), Hawick (40 mins), Selkirk (15 mins) and Carlisle (2 hrs). The main operator is First Edinburgh , Tel 0131-663 9233, Galashiels Bus station, Tel 01896-752287. The Tourist Information Centre is at 3 St John's St, Tel 755551. Apr-May Mon-Sat 1100-1600, Jun and Sep Mon-Sat 1000-1700; Jul and Aug Mon-Sat 1000-1800, Sun 1100-1300; Oct Mon-Sat 1000-1600. Galashiels has played a vital role in the Borders economy for over 700 years as a major weaving town, producing tartans, tweeds and woollens, and is the home of the Scottish College of Textiles, though the industry has gone into decline in recent times. The only real attraction is Lochcarron Cashmere and Wool Centre in Huddersfield Street, a working mill with a visitor centre, textiles museum and reasonable mill shop. Info: Open all year round daily for guided tours, phone for times; Tel 751100.