Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
EATING AND DRINKING
Ì
Bridge Inn
Port Brae, next to the bridge just off
High St
T
01721 720589.
With its attractive mock-Tudor,
dormer frontage, this traditional pub cuts a fine figure in
the Peebles skyline. Inside, its classic decor and cosy
seating arrangements complement the wide range of real
ales and whiskies on offer while out back there's a sunny
terrace looking on to the river.
Sun-Thurs 11am-
midnight, Fri & Sat 11am-1am.
Coltman's Deli & Kitchen
71-73 High St
T
01721
720405,
W
coltmans.co.uk.
Passing through the narrow
alley next to their immaculate deli you'll find yourself at
Coltman's
, Peebles' most sophisticated dining experience.
While most of the ingredients are seasonal and sourced
locally, the cuisine thinks globally with an imagination and
originality. Fish enthusiasts might try the sea trout with
samphire and tomato butter sauce then move on to the
vanilla and rhubarb cheesecake; all part of the three
course, £26 set menu.
Mon-Wed 10am-5pm, Thurs-Sat
10am-10pm, Sun 10am-4pm.
The Courthouse
High St
T
01721 723537.
Moderately
swanky bistro with a cocktail bar and child-friendly enclosed
beer garden, overlooked by a drinking/dining terrace. The
menu here is vast: there's an abundance of sharing platters
like Melanzane parmigiana or haggis balls for £5, while for a
main dish, try one of the traditional Persian charcoal-grilled
meats from £16.50 or play it safe with a £9 pizza.
Bar: Sun-
Thurs 10am-midnight, Fri & Sat 10am-1am; food
served Mon noon-3pm, Wed & Thurs noon-3pm &
5-9pm, Fri & Sat noon-9:30pm, Sun noon-9pm.
Osso
43 Eastgate,
T
01721 724477,
W
ossorestaurant
.com.
Contemporary restaurant, just east of the Eastgate
theatre, that does fancy lunches like their tru
ed scotch
egg for £6.50, and moves on to comfort food in the
evening. The mains range from the £11 sausage and mash
to the £18 lobster or you can snack on tapas for around £4
each.
Mon-Sat 10am-4.30pm, Tues-Sat 6-9pm.
The Sunflower
4 Bridgegate
T
01721 722420,
W
www
.thesunflower.net.
This adventurous little back restaurant
just off Northgate provides an intimate setting for its rustic yet
modern cuisine. Their smoked haddock tartlet (£9.50) is clever
enough not to overpower its asparagus companion, while
veggies can rejoice in the nut-rich roast with cumin potatoes
whose price jumps from £9.50 to £11 in the evening.
Mon-
Sat noon-3pm & 6-9pm.
2
ENTERTAINMENT
Eastgate Theatre and Arts Centre
Eastgate.
T
01721 725777,
W
eastgatearts.com.
This former
church east of High St has been converted into a modern
arts space with an eclectic programme of world, folk and
light orchestra music as well as theatre, dance and
cinema performances. Art exhibitions are, naturally,
here too, sited beside the in-house café.
Box office:
Mon-Sat 10am-5pm.
Yarrow Water valley
Cutting through the valley southeast of Peebles is the
Yarrow Water valley
, with a river
system that, along with the Ettrick Water, fed the once prosperous mills of Selkirk.
Upstream it leads to some of the Borders' finest hiking spots. he A708 leads you to
Broadmeadows SYHA
hostel
(see opposite) near Yarrowford which serves as a convenient
base and starting point for some good hill walks. From here, you can reach the hilltop
cairns of
The Three Brethren
(1530ft), whose summit offers excellent views over this remote
corner of the Borders. You can also link up with stretches of the Southern Upland Way by
heading east down through Yair Forest, or by following an old drove road west to the
Cheese Well at Minchmoor and ending up at Traquair House near Innerleithen (see p.130).
St Mary's Loch and Loch of the Lowes
Sixteen miles west of Selkirk on the A708 lies the Yarrow's source, a pair of icy lakes:
St Mary's Loch
, and its diminutive neighbour,
Loch of the Lowes
, separated by a slender
isthmus - home to the Tibbie Shiels Inn - and magnificently set beneath the
surrounding hills. his spot was popular with the nineteenth-century Scottish literati,
especially Walter Scott and James Hogg, the “Shepherd Poet of Ettrick”, who eulogized
“the bosom of the lonely Lowes”.
For a short and enjoyable walk, follow a section of the Southern Upland Way from
the inn along the east side of St Mary's Loch into
Bowerhope Forest
. Alternatively,
there's the Southern Upland Way, which heads across the moors north to Traquair
