Reflections from The Borders - May 2026
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The past month has been a bit of a rollercoaster, if you will excuse the cliché. At the start of May I have to be honest, bookings were a little sluggish and my nerve was being tested as I don’t think it has in the three years I have now been self employed. I had a small wobble, the sort you probably don’t admit to until after the fact, but I kept it in perspective because I believe in what I do and know the value of it. Then it was as if someone flicked a switch, website enquiries picked up, bookings came in and the month ended on much firmer ground. It was a relief, of course, but also a reminder that this world I’ve built - tour guide, blogger, podcaster, local search engine and whatever else I’ve become - is wonderful, but it needs graft, a bit of nerve and a willingness to ride out the dips when they come. I’m up for it.
Here are a few thoughts from the month just past, grab a cuppa…
Galashiels
One of my favourite days in May was guiding a group from the Galashiels Business Improvement District (BID) on a town centre walk I called Built on Business. We traced the town’s story from its earliest beginnings through the creativity of the industrial revolution, the boom of the early 20th century and the reinventions and setbacks that followed.
I hope the group saw what I see when I guide in Gala, that is a town shaped by skill, graft and resilience. There’s a lot of negativity about Gala these days, especially on facebook, where I see it called a sh*thole with depressing regularity, often by people who live there, and almost always accompanied by a photo of a quiet town centre street. But I reckon so much of that gloom is nostalgia dressed up as fact.
I think the truth is that its down to us, our habits have changed. We swapped walking into the High Street with a basket every day or two for hopping into the car and heading to supermarkets once a week - all built on the footprints of Comleybank, Mid Mill, Buckholm Skinworks, Victoria Mill and others. The supermarkets didn’t kill the town centre. We chose convenience, so Tesco and Asda aren’t Hook and Abanazar the pantomime villains (boo! hiss!), it’s just modern life and we enable that.
And yet Gala is still busy, still attracting more shoppers than ever, just spread around the town and the towns story is still developing and interesting if we look at what is happening rather than mourning what’s gone. It has a resilient streak as wide as the toon is long. I hope the BID tells its story with pride, and I wish them well. It’s a big job, but I’m right behind them.
Peebles
May also saw the first three Peebles: 900 Years in 90 Minutes walks, and I’m chuffed with how they’ve gone. Not just the sales (though three sell outs is lovely bit of dopamine I have to be honest!), but more so the reactions during and after each walk. Every group teaches me something new, and by September it might well be 900 Years in 180 Minutes…
I won’t spoil the walk for those still to come, but I can say that my favourite moments include explaining the town’s name, trying to work out when the Old Town started being called the Old Town, tracing the line of the town wall and pointing out the fish that swims the wrong way. You can grab tickets for remaining walks here, I would love to see you there.
900 Years in 90 Minutes on Eventbrite
Melrose & Innerleithen
There was sad news for my home town of Innerleithen recently with the announcement that Haus & Co, the much‑loved coffee shop and lifestyle store which opened in 2022, is to close its doors here this summer. Last year a second store opened in Palma Place, Melrose, and from August the business will focus solely on that location.
It’s a blow for Innerleithen, of course. Haus has contributed to the life of the High Street since day one, and I’ve been a supporter since the first day Gary opened the door in the smaller shop across the street. But it’s also a fully understandable choice. Running two shops doesn’t automatically double your income - I would suggest it doubles your pressure and problems. And Melrose, with its higher footfall and steady stream of visitors, offers a different kind of opportunity. To be frank, this move always had an air of inevitability about it for me as soon as the Melrose store opened up.
What interests me, though, is what this says about the two towns. Innerleithen and Melrose are only a short drive apart along the River Tweed, but they sit in very different ecosystems. Melrose benefits from tourism, day trippers, walkers, tour buses and a steady flow of people who see the town as a destination. Innerleithen has its own strengths which I champion regularly including community, creativity, mountain biking, a growing food and coffee scene but it doesn’t have the same volume of casual footfall, and perhaps never will.
Gary & Haus choosing one over the other, it isn’t a judgement on quality or character of the towns. Instead I see it as a reminder of how fragile and finely balanced small town High Streets are across the country, not just in the Borders. I’ll miss Haus in Innerleithen, it is a blow. But I’ll also be supporting it in Melrose, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it grows there and helping Gary achieve that in any way I can. Towns evolve and businesses adapt, the challenge for all of us is to make sure the next chapter of our High Street is one worth investing in.
Hawick
Towards the end of May I found myself in Hawick with two lovely guests from the USA, tracing their Cavers ancestors. It was a day that confirmed why I love this work - the mix of detective work, storytelling, route planning and the satisfaction of connecting people with the places their family once walked. By the end of the tour I felt I had given them something meaningful, not just a good day out (although it was!), but a sense of belonging to a long story, bigger than themselves. Job done!
We finished in Hawick, which was gearing up for the Common Riding, and the town was absolutely buzzing with anticipation. What I noticed, and there is only one word I can use for it, and that’s care. Every shop window was washed and seemed to have bunting or a display in blue and gold. Plaques along the High Street had been freshly bordered. Volunteers were out sweeping the streets. I was probably over egging it to my guests but I think even the air felt different somehow, charged and expectant.
Before I get letters, Hawick isn’t alone in this, of course. All our Border towns put on their Sunday best for their summer festivals, as do many others across the country naturally. But Hawick, being the biggest town in our region and the first of the festivals each year, seems to swell with a particular kind of pride. The heritage of 1514 and aw’ that really matters and is shown with vigour.
What I love most is that this heritage isn’t performative or showy. Its no bagpipes and tartan for tourists, albeit my guests from the USA were fascinated, even intoxicated by this ‘discovery’ of the Common Riding and its savage origins. The reality is that it’s for the town itself, a form of annual declaration of identity.
The Border Common Ridings and Festivals are special. They give us yearly fixed points and bind us to our home. Now, I have to be clear and say I have major issues with the drinking culture and some of the attitudes of the Border festivals. However when the world sometimes feels a bit bland and globalised, people increasingly disconnected behind screens, led by AI and fed internet slop then having this sort of pride, connection and identity is something precious that should be preserved.
Enjoy the season if you partake, and caw canny on the drink…
