The scenic Borders town of Peebles is the largest in Tweeddale and sits 6 miles up river of my home Innerleithen. During its short life my blog has been quite Innerleithen centric, which is no big surprise, but I want to spend a bit of time talking about the county town and its various attractions. So without further ado, here are 10 things that make Peebles live up to its former tourist logo - Peebles for Pleasure!

The River Tweed

The Tweed runs through Peebles, not bypassing it as it does other Border towns like Innerleithen and Gala. The river is Peeblesshire’s gift to the Borders region and the prosperity of this part of Scotland has been inextricably linked to the great river. The Tweed is a really attractive centrepiece to the town and Tweed Green to Haylodge is a great wee wander. The elephant in the room however is the increasingly frequent floods. Those living and working around the river are becoming used to dealing with this but what were once generational events now seem to be becoming annual.

Cademuir

Just south of Peebles is Cademuir Hill. This triple topped hill forms a 3km long ridge from Craigerne to Manor Water, providing instant acccess to the Border Hills from the town. The eastern side of the hill is forested and there are waymarked walking trails, plus the ubiquitous unofficial mountain bike tracks. No fewer than 7 ancient forts and settlements can be found on the hills tops and flanks, confirming the strategic and defensive qualities of the site to our long departed forebears. Today however the only danger around here is the occasional trail runner or mountain biker - a fine location for any of these activities.

The Cross Kirk

A Priory was built at this place around 750 years ago on the orders of Alexander III, King of Scots. At the time the site was just outside of the Royal Burgh. The spiritual associations of this spot go back further than that however, as it is reputed to be the burial place of the relics (I.e. bones) of St Nicholas. Yes, that’s the Santa Claus Saint - how these bones got from Asia Minor to Peebles is anyone’s guess, so I take that all with a pinch of salt - a Peebles version of Innerleithen’s St Ronan’s legend perhaps?!? Anyway, it was this discovery, along with an excellent Cross also found here, that convinced the King that a permanent religious site should be built here, and the name Cross Kirk comes from the discovery of the ancient relic.

Today it’s a peaceful urban ruin, swallowed up by Peebles Victorian sprawl. It’s surprisingly intact and situated among some beautiful old granny pines. These attractive grounds play host to an outdoors Ecumenical service every June to kick off Peebles Beltane Festival week, of which more later…

Peebles Hydro

Peebles has a number of fine hotels, but the Hydro is the most iconic and my own favourite. Originally built in 1881, the first Hydro burnt down and was rebuilt in 1907. Its name provides a clue to its early purpose - a hydrotherapy hotel, curing ills in luxurious surroundings, easily reached by Peebles two railways at the time. Today it’s owned by the Crieff Hydro group and has undergone much modernisation over the last decade, but the old girl still has the air of classic, slightly faded glamour which I love. The swimming pool is great (biggest hotel pool in the region - perhaps the most obscure fact I’ve shared on here, and the competition is fierce), and there are a few different dining and drinking options. My recommendation would be the Not the Cocktail Bar for a pint and burger 🍔

Indie Shops

Peebles has done a great job of supporting its local businesses and, despite an encroachment of some big brands, it’s still a bustling and vibrant High Street with mainly independent shops. Graham McGraths is an excellent tailor (despite, or perhaps because of owner David’s dodgy patter), Villeneuve Wines has an impressive selection of whisky and beer (plus wine of course, though that’s lost on me), Scott Brothers is a shop where, as my wife said walking past it recently, you can find just about anything. There are many more - best thing to do is take a wander and see for yourself. #shoplocal

Forsyths

Best Pork Pies in the world. Plus everything else this butcher and baker sells is top class. I love the pride they take in the shops appearance, and the fact that the wee kiddies always get a bit of chopped pork from the butchers. A touch of class…

The Beltane Festival

Peebles Beltane is worthy of a blog post of its own, and it’ll get one nearer June. For now, and to summarise for the uninitiated, it’s a week long celebration every June that aims to provide something for everyone in the town to enjoy. The two great pillars of The Beltane are the Riding of The Marches (Wednesday Night, with the Cornet leading a vast cavalcade of mounted supporters around the towns historic boundaries) and the crowning of The Beltane Queen on Saturday, the towns Red Letter Day. The modern Beltane dates from 1897, but the idea of crowning a child queen to herald summer dates much further back into antiquity - in fact Peebles Beltane has a claim to be the oldest festival in The Borders. Beyond these two huge events are a number of others including the Fancy Dress (see above, it’s not Peebles without a bit of drag) and the Cross Kirk ceremony. I’ll deal with Beltane in greater detail in a future post but suffice to say it’s a great week and “better felt than telt”!

The Beltane Queen

A huge parade takes the Queen and court around Peebles on Red Letter Day

Peebles Show

The Peeblesshire Agricultural Show takes place in August and is one of Scotland’s largest displays of livestock. Sheep dominate, as anyone whose spent even 10 minutes driving through the county would guess, but there are also large cattle and equestrian classes. The show used to take place at Haylodge Park but outgrew the space and now takes place on farm and parkland at Nether Horsbrugh, between Peebles and Innerleithen. There is plenty to entertain here including the ubiquitous beer tent, food stalls, kids rides and load of people watching opportunities. My favourite from the 2022 show was seeing our local MP (Conservative) sitting with our local MSP (SNP), having an ice cream and a good old gossip together. They are an awfy pair…

This years show will be held on Saturday 17 August 2024.

The ‘Half Mile’ Tunnel

Neidpath Railway Tunnel sits just outside Peebles. As High School kids it was always ‘the half-mile tunnel’ though that is a slight over exaggeration (it’s 0.34 miles long, which doesn’t have quite the same ring). It was built to take the Caledonian Railway under South Park woods on its way to Upper Tweeddale, Biggar, across the Clyde at Wolfclyde and on to the West Coast mainline at Symington. Rumour has it the King’s train stayed overnight in the tunnel during World War 2 but, perhaps true however we do like a good myth around these parts so let’s keep it going! In 2016 the tunnel was incorporated into the Tunnel Trail run, illuminated spectacularly to give a centrepiece to a classic trail run route. The route has been retired sadly but the bats in the tunnel need looking after.

You can take a wander through the tunnel from Haylodge Park or Neidpath viaduct. But be prepared, the tunnel curves and, for a brief period, there is no light visible at either end - take a headtorch and your brave pants!

If you would like a guided tour through the tunnel, you can join my River Tweed Trail - Storytelling walk on Sunday 6 October 2024.

And finally, the road to Innerleithen

Yes, for all Peebles wonderful charms the road home to Innerleithen has to be the greatest of all. I do, of course, jest! Rivalry between Border towns is rife and Innerleithen and Peebles are no exception. Most people recognise this as friendly banter and it’s good fun, albeit some people do take this sort of thing too far - not a view I could ever get onboard with, as this blog has proven.

So, there it is. 10 things I love about Peebles - and I’ve missed a few such as Auld Neidpath, Chip Shop, The Green Tree, Callants Supper, Eastgate Theatre, Tweedlove, The Fat Batard, Gypsy Glen and many more. A sequel will follow at a later date!

Peebles for Pleasure