The River Tweed & the Scottish Borders

This was our first holiday with Inntravel and we were impressed with how well organised it all was. The walking routes were so well described we barely had to consult the maps.

The sun shone and the Borders folk were very friendly and helpful. The routes were good for ageing Inntravellers. Loved visits to Traquair House and Abbotsford. The Tweed is a lovely companion, sometimes quiet, at other times noisy over the rocks.

Edinburgh is a lovely city to explore on foot. The contrast between the Old and New towns is heightened by a visit to National Trust Scotland properies of Gladstone Land in the Old and the Georgian House in the New. We recommend a bus sighteeing tour of the city to start the visit to obtain an overview.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers conbined our walk The Tweed & the Scottish Borders with our Edinburgh City add-on

This was our 10th and 11th walk with Inntravel so we are devoted fans. As we live in the rainy Pacific Northwest of the US, it was the first time that we haven't traveled to a warmer climate. We learned our lesson near the end of the first walk by being so determined to walk that we walked in the rain all day. The problem is there is no shelter to rest or eat. It wasn't that hard of a walk but we were tired and disheartened afterwards. Aside from that little lesson learned, we wore out the word "wow" in response to the beauty of our Scottish walks. On the first day of our circular walk from Peebles there were whole choruses of birds singing in the power lines overhead. We felt part of a magical kingdom. Our host at Caddon View suggested walking directly to Traquair House and then doing the walks laid out on the maps there. After doing the suggested Inntravel walk, we would recommend doing so. One note, the cafe at Traquair House closes at 3:00. Perhaps because Traquair House has been continuously inhabited, the history there felt alive. Mary, Queen of Scots became a person when I saw the cradle that held her son.We walked to Melrose after heavy rains and flood warnings. A muddy, fast moving Tweed just below the level of the path gave us a different experience from the magical kingdom of our first days. We enjoyed Melrose Abbey despite it not being safe to be inside. After the disturbing high levels of the Tweed the day before we sat in the garden across from the Abbey in the sunshine with books and ice cream and felt very fortunate to be in such a beautiful place. It was a privilege to experience the Borders in all its moods.We then transferred to Aberfeldy to start the Heart of Scotland walk. The description of the Birks of Aberfeldy did not prepare me for the majesty of the site. Don't miss it. We shortened the walk to Pitlochry by catching a taxi to Grandtully and walking from there. After purchases at the Iain Burnett chocolate shop we enjoyed our hike up over the moors. The descent in slippery, shoe sucking mud was hard on joints.The day we were supposed to climb Ben Vrackie had uncertain weather. Inntravel suggested taking the train to Blair Atholl so we were able to delay the climb until the next day. In our mid 70s,  climbing Ben Vrackie was the most important part of this trip. Happily we made it close to the top before I succumbed to vertigo. Now I know that as I'm susceptible to motion sickness, looking up at fast moving clouds near the top of a mountain isn't a good idea. I am so grateful to Inntravel for making it possible for us to climb Ben Vrackie. It's a memory for a lifetime. The Old Manse is the most pleasurable hotel of all our travels. Walking from our guest room up to the house for meals or help felt like coming home. While it is a very fine accommodation, there is simply warm hearted friendliness. We added an extra night at The Old Manse and visited the Falls of Bruar the day after Ben Vrackie.  During our two Scottish walks we ran out of superlatives for the beauty that we experienced. Our host said it was safe to walk along the road on our return from The Falls of Bruar, and indeed cars gave us a wide berth and we felt comfortable. One note - our host at The Old Manse said the retail shops at the Bruar of the Falls specialize in shipping purchases. Had we known, we would have been able to enjoy more Scottish treats on our return home. The next day we visited Blair Castle. It's a noteworthy castle with the worst cafe food we experienced. We walked into Blair Atholl for eatable food (where the only ATM in the area was not working in case you need cash) and then walked home through the castle grounds to The Old Manse feeling on top of the world with gratitude that Inntravel makes it possible for us to explore places we would never know to go. 

I read recently that after a year purchases lose their ability to give us happiness while experiences gain in pleasure as time goes by. That is certainly our experience with hiking and Inntravel. 

INNTRAVEL NOTE: This customer combined our walking holidays 'The Tweed & the Scottish Borders' and 'Heart of Scotland'.

The River Tweed is gorgeous, and everything is so green. Beautiful, peaceful, lots of lambs! Highlights were Neidpath Castle and especially Traquair House. Amazing history there. A must see. Peebles, Innerleithen & Melrose were charming. People were so friendly. There were no crowds anywhere. We could walk all day with seeing only a couple of people on the trail. The written trail instructions were accurate, informative, and interesting. We primarily used the written notes, but also downloaded the GPS trails from our Inntravel page as back up, as was recommended. We used the GPS a few times each day just to make sure we were going in the right direction. I did have to download a gps trail app on my phone. I used the GAIA gps app. I recommend bringing post-it notes to mark the page of your daily hike. I recommend for lunch, before you set out on your walk, pick up a Scotch (lamb) pie from a bakery or butcher shop.  These are tasty, even cold. We also enjoyed the lunch to go prepared by the Tontine which was ready for us when we finished breakfast (ordered the night before). All in all, I highly recommend Inntravel for your walking holiday!

The Scottish Borders are a wonderful place. We saw goosanders, dippers, oyster catchers ....and ospreys! We had our holiday in April and the wild flowers and trees were stunning. The river was central to our walks and was beautiful of course. There are so many interesting features to see including Neidpath Castle, Traquair House, Abbotsford, not to mention the numerous beautiful stone bridges over the river, many of which date back to the 1700s. Then there's the Leaderfoot aqueduct! Inntravel is a marvellous company to deal with. They deliver on every level and I would certainly do another walking holiday with them.

This was our first experience of Inntravel and we were totally satisfied with the holiday. We will certainly be using Inntravel in the future.

A lovely mix of walks in a very quiet area of the country. We saw a pine marten, a red squirrel and an otter and the skies were teeming with sand martins, house martins and swallows. Coltman's and the deli at Milne & Pickles in Peebles were a treat, and the Pie Shop in Innerleithen was very welcome at the end of the glorious hill walk. Provender in Melrose was a gastronomic treat too. Taking time to go to The Great Tapestry of Scotland in Galashiels at the end of the holiday was a perfect finale.

The holiday was very relaxing and the walks were through beautiful areas and very peaceful. We hadn't been to the Scottish Borders before and we were delighted with how beautiful this area is. We are really pleased to have explored the area and learnt some of the history too. The Hotels and the Guest House were all very welcoming, the food was delicious and we felt very at home. We would recommend this walk and if Inntravel have other future walks in the Borders we will be happy to explore further.

We loved our trip! The lemgth of each walk was perfect for us and we never tired of the view. Great introduction to the Scottish borders.

Picturesque, easy, enjoyed Peebles, and theatre in Peebles worth finding out about.

Make sure Caddon View know any dietary requirements in advance - they need 48 hours notice if you want to eat there on the second night.

We really enjoyed following the herons and goosanders down the river - don't forget the binoculars.

We also enjoyed Abbotsford and Traquair House - well worth a visit with welcoming staff.

We really enjoyed the birdlife along the Tweed: so many herons and goosander. We thought the goosander would be a better symbol of the Tweed path than the Dipper.

We particularly enjoyed any of the walks that took us close to the banks of the Tweed very picturesque and relaxing. There is a very easy to use bus service to Edinburgh when you stay at Caddon View, the stop is right outside the accommodation. Edinburgh is well worth a visit.

Make sure you have some change because all the toilets in the towns are 30p.

If you travel by car be aware that the parking spaces at Burts are quite tight and the car park does fill up during busy periods.

Our group of four experienced Tweed and the Scottish Borders, Edinburgh Add-on and Fife's Coastal Corner in late August/early September. The arrangements, transfers, hotels and meals were spot on. The route notes were easy to follow and full of interesting details about the history, geology, culture and people of the regions.

An excellent walking holiday and very relaxing. Beautiful walks and good accommodation. The Burts hotel was a perfect finish to the holiday and we ate both nights as the food was excellent. The food at the Caddon View was fantastic too. Pity the room was small.