At the meeting of the waters, you’ll still hear folks reminiscing about the time they used to picnic by the river before ‘the new bridge’ was built. Constructed in 1974 but still thought of as new and just as much maligned as the day it arrived. Along from here is Abbotsford House, historically important and […]

Garden cultivation in Scotland began in the 15th century, mainly among monasteries, royalty, and the wealthy. Early gardens were practical, growing herbs and food, and influenced by European styles. For example, Traquair House, Scotland’s oldest inhabited home by the River Tweed, features historic orchards and parkland. The 18th Century saw a surge in the creation […]

2025 marked the 250th anniversary of the birth of Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851), one of Britain’s greatest and most influential landscape painters. Known for his dramatic skies and luminous watercolours, Turner transformed how we see nature. Turner was captivated by the Scottish Borders and painted several scenes along the River Tweed, capturing its serene […]

Travelling through Tweedsmuir, you’ll find an old inn at a bend in the road where hills, travellers, and stories have met for centuries. It’s called The Crook Inn, and one of its most memorable characters was a woman known as Jeanie O’ the Crook. Jeanie Hutchison was born at the inn in 1807, daughter of […]

The house and estate of Makerstoun was home of the Makdougall family for many years. In 1860, following the death of Sir Thomas Brisbane, it was inherited by Maria Scott Makdougall, a spinster, 76 years of age. Miss Makdougall was a staunch teetotaler who now found herself in possession of one of the finest wine […]

Wordsworth climbed from his carriage and held out his hand to wife Mary and sister Dorothy. The crunch of their small feet on the gravel drive startled a robin, who sang as it watched the three visitors look up at Abbotsford. “Such a fine house and a peaceful place,” William said as the front door […]