What to Do around Innerleithen
Many of our guests come to Caddon View as a break from city life and in this section we describe what to do around Innerleithen. The Borders is a great place for a quick battery recharge. The small rural mill town of Innerleithen, once renowned for its exquisite cashmere, is set in the heart of the Scottish Borders’ rolling landscape in the Tweed Valley. It is surrounded by all the calm and charm of the countryside but still within easy reach of Edinburgh, which is less than an hour’s drive away. The ceaseless industry of the old mills have given way to far more carefree pastimes, and the River Tweed is now one of the cleanest in Scotland.
There are plenty of places to visit in the Scottish Borders, guaranteed to make your stay as enjoyable, educational or adventurous as you desire! We’ve listed a few ideas below to get you thinking about a visit soon.
The website ‘Go Tweed Valley’ will provide the most up to date list of events and news in the valley.
Houses
Traquair House, Abbotsford House, Bowhill House, Paxton House, Mellerstain House, Manderston House.
Castles
Floors Castle, Crichton Castle, Thirlestane Castle, Neidpath Castle, Hermitage Castle, Greenknowe Tower, Jedburgh Castle & Jail, Smailholm Tower. Not a castle, but certainly historical, Roman Melrose.
Gardens
Kailzie Gardens, Dawyck Botanic Garden, Bowhill Country Park, Monteviot House Garden, Mertoun Gardens, Priarwood Garden, Harmony Garden, Mellerstain Gardens, Little Sparta.
Abbeys
Melrose Abbey, Jedburgh Abbey, Kelso Abbey, Dryburgh Abbey. Not quite an abbey but certainly spiritual is the Samye Ling Monastery in Eskdalemuir.
Outdoor Pursuits
Kailzie Equestrian Centre; Canoe & Kayak Tours on the River Tweed; Go-Ape in Glentress Forest; Braidwood Sporting Clays and Border Clay Days in Selkirk; Falconry Scotland in Jedburgh;
Festivals
Traquair Medieval Festival at Traquair House in August; Innerleithen Music Festival in August; Common Ridings at various locations May – August; Borders Book Festival in Melrose in June; Tweedlove Mountain Biking Festival in the Tweed Valley May – June.
Crafts
Robert Smails Printworks Innerleithen; Lindean Mill Glass Studio near Selkirk; The Place to Potter, Paint & Clay in Peebles; Linda Lewin Jewellery workshops in Stobo; Robert Elliot Furniture by Selkirk; The Crafters in Melrose; The Framing Gallery in Innerleithen; Buttercup Studio, Angela Hunter in Innerleithen.
Scenery
Enjoy eighteen hundred square miles of scenery in the Scottish Borders. From St Mary’s Loch and surrounding area, The Ettrick Valley, Talla and Megget reservoirs, Drumelizier, the burial place of Merlin according to local folklore, the Eildon Hills and the Manor Valley, the choice of quiet getaways is almost endless.