Kelso

Kelso

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===Introduction to Kelso=== code: +44 (0)1573 Population: 6,000

The little market town of Kelso, at the confluence of the Tweed and Teviot rivers, is one of the most picturesque of the Border towns, with its cobbled streets leading into a wide market square bounded by elegant, three-storey 18th- and 19th-century town houses. The main festivals are the Border Union Agricultural Show and the town's Riding of the Marches, both of which take place in July. Kelso also hosts its own Rugby Sevens in early September.

Situated on the banks of the River Tweed at its junction with the Teviot, Kelso is an ideal place to use as a base for exploring the Borders, the Berwickshire Coast and North Northumberland. Described by Sir Walter Scott as The most beautiful if not the most romantic village in Scotland, it has kept that atmosphere which he loved. Kelso

With a population, today, of just over 6,000, it is large enough to have everything, but not too large to overwhelm. Protected to the north by the Lammermuir Hills and the Cheviots to the south, it lies in one of the most fertile valleys in the country. Being within ten miles of the English border, past history dealt the town a very hard time during the Border Wars of the thirteenth to sixteenth centuries.

Ins and outs

The bus station is on Roxburgh St, a short walk from The Square. There are regular buses to and from Galashiels, Melrose, Jedburgh, Coldstream and Kirk Yetholm. Services are less frequent on Sun. For more details, contact the main bus operator First Edinburgh, Tel 0131-663 9233, or Traveline, Tel 0870-6082608. There are also several buses (Mon-Sat) to and from Berwick-upon-Tweed. Kelso's Tourist Information Centre is in the Town House, on The Square, Tel 223464. Apr-May Mon-Sat 1100-1600, Sun 1000-1300; Jun and Sep Mon-Sat 0930-1700, Sun 1000-1300; Jul and Aug Mon-Sat 0900-1830, Sun 1000-1700; Oct Mon-Sat 1000-1600, Sun 1000-1300; winter Mon-Sat 1100-1600. Hours subject to change.

Sights

Kelso Abbey was once the largest and richest of the Border abbeys, but suffered the same fate as its counterparts, Jedburgh, Dryburgh and Melrose. Kelso was a strategic point in the Border wars between the Scots and the English and the abbey, founded in 1138 by King David, was laid to waste by successive English invasions, most devastatingly in 1545 by the Earl of Hertford. This latter attack was part of Henry VIII's so-called 'Rough Wooing', when the king took exception to the Scots' refusal to ratify a marriage treaty between his son and the infant Mary Stuart. Today, little remains of the abbey, and it is the least complete of those in the Borders. The nearby octagonal Old Parish Church, built in 1773, is unusual. Info: Apr-end Dec daily (Sun afternoon only). Free.

Aside from the abbey, the town's only other major attraction is the pleasant Cobby Riverside Walk, which leads along the banks of the Tweed to Floors Castle. Leave The Square by Roxburgh Street, and follow the signposted alley to the start of the walk. The route passes the junction of the Tweed and Teviot rivers, a spot famous for its salmon fishing. Floors Castle, the vast ancestral home of the Duke of Roxburghe, stands imperiously overlooking the Tweed, about a mile northwest of the town centre. The original Georgian mansion was designed by Robert Adam and built in 1721-26, though it was later remodelled by William Playfair in the 1840s, with the addition of many flamboyant features. Only 10 rooms are open to the public but they are undeniably elegant and palatial, and amongst the many priceless family items on display are outstanding collections of European furniture, porcelain and paintings by Picasso, Matisse and Augustus John, and a 15th-century Brussels tapestry. Floors is the largest inhabited castle in Scotland and the current occupier, the 10th Duke of Roxburghe, is a close personal friend of the royal family. The house also has a restaurant and a coffee shop. Info: Mid Apr to end Oct daily 1000-1630 (last admission 1600). £5.50, £4.75 concession. Tel 223333.

Sleeping

The most luxurious place to stay hereabouts is The Roxburghe Hotel & Golf Course, at the village of Heiton, a few miles from town on the A698 to Hawick, T450331,Roxburghe This country mansion, owned by the Duke of Roxburgh, stands in hundreds of acres of park and woodlands on the banks of the Teviot, and offers grand style, superb cuisine and a championship golf course.

Less salubrious but nevertheless highly recommended is the slightly more affordable Ednam House Hotel, on Bridge St, Tel 224168, Fax 226319. A family-run Georgian mansion overlooking the Tweed and close to the town centre. Excellent food served all day (lunch cheap; dinner mid-range) in a restaurant with great views over the river.

There are also some fine guesthouses and B&Bs, including White Swan Inn, Abbey Row, Tel 225800; and the non-smoking Bellevue House, Bowmont St, Tel/Fax 224588, bellevue.kelso@virgin.net The nearest youth hostel is at Kirk Yetholm.

There's a campsite at Springwood Caravan Park, Tel 224596, Spring Wood Caravan Park open Mar-Oct, overlooking the Tweed on the A699 heading west towards St Boswells.

Self catering Cottages Near Kelso

• Jake's Cottage Sleeps 6

Eating

The best places to eat are the Roxburghe and Ednam House Hotels listed above. The other hotels in town also offer food, most notably the Queens Head, Tel 224636, at 24 Bridge St, and the Black Swan Hotel, Tel 224563, on Horsemarket. Both are just off The Square and offer cheap bar meals. There's also Cobbles, a cost dining pub on Belmont Pl, and Cottage Garden Tea Room, opposite the abbey, which offers tea, coffee and light lunches (closed Sun & Wed, Nov-Easter, and Mon Jan, Feb).

Smailholm Tower

Six miles northwest of Kelso on the B6397 is the village of Smailholm, where a turning leads to Smailholm Tower, a classic Scottish tower house and an evocative place full of history and romance. The 15th-century fortified farmhouse, built by the Pringles, squires to the Earls of Douglas, stands on a rocky pinnacle above a small lake. Sir Walter Scott's grandfather owned the nearby farm and the young Scott came here as a sickly child in the 1770s to improve his health. So began the writer's long love affair with the lore and landscapes of the Scottish Borders which inspired so much of his poetry and prose. Scott would write a ballad about this gaunt tower house - The Eve of St John - as part of a deal with the owner to save it. Today Smailholm houses a small, unremarkable museum relating to some of Scott's works, but the views from the top of the tower are rewarding. Info: Apr-Sep daily 0930-1830; Oct-Mar Sat 0930-1630, Sun 1400-1630. £2, £1.50 concession. Tel 460365.

Mellerstain House

Northwest of Kelso, on the A6089 to Gordon, is the signpost for Mellerstain House, home of the Earl of Haddington and one of Scotland's great Georgian houses. This 18th-century architectural masterpiece was designed by William Adam and his son Robert and perfectly characterizes the elegant symmetry of the period. The superb exterior is more than matched by the exquisitely ornate interiors. There is also furniture by Chippendale and Hepplewhite, as well as paintings by Constable, Gainsborough, Veronese and Van Dyck. The formal Italian gardens, laid out in the early 20th century, are equally impressive. Info: Easter weekend and May-Sep Sun-Mon 1230-1700 (last admission) 1630. £5, £4.50 concession; café/shop 1130-1730. Tel 410225.

Kirk Yetholm and Town Yetholm

There are regular buses to and from Kelso , 20 mins away. Six miles southeast of Kelso on the B6352 are the twin villages of Kirk Yetholm and Town Yetholm, lying within a stone's throw of the English border on the edge of the Cheviot Hills, at the northern end of the Pennine Way which runs up the spine of northern England. The villages are also on St Cuthbert's Way, which runs from Melrose to Lindisfarne in Northumberland.

Sleeping

There's accommodation in Kirk Yetholm, at the excellent C-D Border Hotel, Tel 420237, overlooking the village green, which marks the end of the Pennine Way. Kirk Yetholm was once the home of the king of the gypsies (you can still see his pretty little cottage by the green) and the bar is full of pictures of the former gypsy inhabitants. It serves a welcome pint of ale and good food, too. There are several B&Bs, including D-E Valleydene, Tel 420286, Eamil Valy Dene on the High Street. There's also a F Youth Hostel in Kirk Yetholm, Tel 420631, open mid-Mar to end Oct. There's a caravan park (does not take tents) at Kirkfield Caravan Park, on Grafton Road in Town Yetholm, Tel 420346, open Apr-Oct. A good pub is The Border, on The Green, popular with hikers.

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