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THE BSPC PROPERTY GUIDE / WWW.BSPC.CO.UK
Overlooking the Eildon Hills
Riders in Scott Street, Galashiels during Gathering Week
Bank Street, Galashiels
Focus on the Galashiels Area Beverley Brown takes a closer look at the benefits of living in and around one of the Borders’ major towns The Galashiels area, which includes surrounding towns and villages such as Melrose, Darnick, Gattonside, Earlston, St Boswells, Stow, Clovenfords and Lauder, is up there with the best when it comes to providing the right mix of services and amenities that make up a great lifestyle location. Good schools, sports and leisure opportunities, shops, restaurants and medical services combine with a wide variety of property styles and picturesque natural surroundings to give welcome respite from the pressures of day-to-day living. Moreover the area also has excellent roads and transport links that make it an ideal location for Edinburgh commuters. Add in a rail link, which is scheduled to go into service in 2013 with the reopening of the Waverley line between the capital and Tweedbank, on the outskirts of Galashiels, and this area seems set to receive a further boost in popularity. Galashiels means ‘dwellings by the Gala Water’ and the first recorded reference to the town was in 1124, during the reign of David 1. The town’s oldest building, Old Gala House, home of the Lairds of Gala for five centuries, is now an art gallery and local museum charting the story of the house, its inhabitants and the early development of the town. A newer but equally impressive monument is the war memorial with its massive Border Reiver horseman, the work of local sculptor Thomas Clapperton.
Surrounded by historic sites and monuments and breath -taking scenery, switching off and unwinding has never been easier. While the town itself has plenty of man-made attractions (including a four-screen multiplex cinema, sports centres, and children’s play areas), the great outdoors offers spectacular walks and hill treks, cycle routes, forest picnic sites, and of course the River Tweed, which winds its way through the landscape until it reaches the sea just over the border at Berwick-Upon-Tweed. Scott’s View, on the B6356 between Earlston and St Boswells, is perhaps one of the most famous vistas in the Borders, set against the distinctive triple peaks of the Eildon Hills. At Leaderfoot, near Melrose, three bridges cross the Tweed where a ferryboat once operated. Steeped in history and legend, this is an area that includes the ruined 12th century Melrose Abbey and the equally spectacular Dryburgh Abbey, the final resting place of Sir Walter Scott, whose home, Abbotsford House in Melrose, is open to the public.
For outdoor enthusiasts there’s something for all ages, from walks, cycle tracks and horse riding, to some of the finest fishing in the world. This is rugby country and Galashiels and Melrose are both represented in the famous Border League, while Melrose was also the birthplace of the Rugby Sevens. The rolling landscape makes golf another major sporting attraction and with courses in Melrose, Lauder, Galashiels and St Boswells, there’s no shortage of choice. The 18-hole course in Galashiels extends to the top of Ladhope Hill, where it’s said the views from the top make you forget the climb. Lauder’s proximity to the A68, the oldest established route between Edinburgh and England, gives the town added commuter appeal and situated close to the Lammermuir Hills, property styles in this picturesque part of the world are predictably varied, from traditional through to modern. The town is also unique in having retained the layout of an ancient Scottish Royal Burgh, which it combines with the facilities of a modern town with historic buildings such as 15th century Thirlstane Castle, where features include an adventure playground, Victorian kitchen, and dolls house collection, is one of the oldest castles in Scotland, dating back to the 13th century.
Galashiels made its name as a centre of excellence for textile manufacturing. More recently, the decline of the industry saw once productive mills become tombstones to a bygone era. However, thanks to major investment, in recent years the mill sites have been reborn in a different guise, with the largest now home to Gala Water Retail Park, where 24-hour supermarkets are joined by top chain stores such as Marks & Spencer and Next, while links with the textile industry are maintained by the School of Textiles and Design, now part of Heriot-Watt University. Leaderfoot Viaduct, South of Galashiels