Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Dawyck Botanic Garden
Stobo, 8 miles southwest of Peebles on the B712 • Daily: Feb & Nov 10am-4pm; March & Oct 10am-5pm; April-Sept 10am-6pm • £5.50
•
T
01721 760254,
W
rbge.org.uk
An outstation of the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh, the masterpiece of seventeenth-
century horticultural passion and creativity that is
Dawyck Botanic Garden
ranks among
the world's finest arboreta. Hosting species from climatically similar corners of the globe,
the 62-acre garden was the culmination of early plant-hunting expeditions, particularly
those by David Douglas (of Douglas fir fame). One of the best times to visit is in spring,
when, as you enter the garden through the ultra-modern visitor centre, you're welcomed
by the feast that is the Azalea Walk in full bloom. Over the brow of the hill, 300-year-old
redwoods tower over a gushing burn that feeds the roots of gigantic gunnera plants. In
autumn, sorbis and acers mount a flaring foliage of reds, oranges and yellows.
2
Kailzie Gardens
3 miles east of Peebles on the B7062 • Daily: April-Oct 11am-5.30pm; Nov-March dawn-dusk •
T
01721 720007,
W
kailziegardens.com • £4
Kailzie Gardens
encompasses fifteen acres of pleasant, partly formal gardens
including a burnside walk, a fishable pond, a delightful walled garden (not open
winter), and a pleasant wood-panelled tearoom. In the dedicated viewing hut, you
can watch live CCTV pictures of the ospreys that have been successfully introduced
into the nearby forest.
Robert Smail's & Sons Printing Works
High St, Innerleithen, 7 miles east of Peebles on the A72 • Easter-Oct Thurs-Sat & Mon noon-5pm, Sun 1-5pm; Nov-Dec Mon, Thurs &
Fri 10am-4pm & Sat 9am-3pm.; tours last 1hr • £6.50; NTS
Little changed since its establishment in 1866,
Robert Smail's Printing Works
is now a
living, working museum, offering an enjoyable insight into the world of Victorian
printing. Originally powered by watermill, the great machines' huge belts and flywheels
are electrically powered now, about the only concession to progress here. Tours also
take in the case room upstairs where you get the chance to set and print your own
block. Most fascinating of all, however, is the archive of every single job the Smails
printed for nearly a hundred years as well as wage books, ledgers and other ephemera.
Traquair House
7 miles southeast of Peebles on the B7062 • Daily: Easter-Sept 11am-5pm; Oct 11am-4pm; Nov Sat & Sun 11am-3pm • £8; grounds
only £4 •
T
01896 830323,
W
traquair.co.uk
Peeping out from the trees just south of Innerleithen,
Traquair House
is the oldest
continuously inhabited house in Scotland, with the present line of owners - the
Maxwell Stuarts - having lived here since 1491. he first laird of Traquair inherited an
elementary fortified tower, which his powerful descendants gradually converted into a
mansion that was visited, it is said, by 27 monarchs, including Mary, Queen of Scots.
Traquair's main appeal is in its ancient shape and structure. he whitewashed facade
is strikingly handsome, with narrow windows and trim turrets surrounding the tiniest
of front doors. Inside, you can see the original vaulted cellars, where locals once hid
their cattle from raiders, and the twisting main staircase as well as the earlier medieval
version, later a secret escape route for persecuted Catholics until the Emancipation Act
freed things up in 1829. Of the furniture and fittings, it's not any particular piece that
impresses, but rather the accumulation of family possessions and revealing letters that
give a real insight into the Maxwell Stuarts' revolving-door fortunes and eccentricities.
In the
museum room
is a wealth of treasures, including a rosary and crucifix owned by
Mary, Queen of Scots and the cloak worn by the earl of Nithsdale during his dramatic
escape from the Tower of London, where he was under sentence of death for his part in
the Jacobite Rising of 1715. he earl was saved by his wife who got his jailers drunk
and smuggled him out disguised as a maid in spite of his red beard.
It's worth sparing time for the surrounding
gardens
, where you'll find a
hedge maze
,
