If you remember from my last post about Scotland, we'd just arrived for a week's holiday in the border town of Peebles. Although our accommodation was in a static caravan right next to a busy main road it wouldn't bother is too much because we'd be spending the week taking in the sights that the region had to offer.
On our first day we decided we'd stay close to base and allow the weariness that had come from the previous day's journey to subside. With that in mind we started our day in Peebles and after parking by the river Tweed we took a look around the town. We found it to be a pleasant place, but being a Sunday a lot of shops were shut so we thought we'd come back later in the week, (sadly that didn't happen because we just ran out of time.
After our stroll around Peebles, we took a scenic back road along the river Tweed to Kailzie gardens. If you've been following my posts about Scotland you will know that we like to visit gardens and this holiday in Peebles wouldn't be an exception.
Kailzie Gardens is set is some of the nicest countryside you will find anywhere in the British Isles, and the garden itself was a delight. It wasn't big like Castle Kennedy and it wasn't full of exotic plants like Logan Botanical Gardens, but it was very quiet and had a charm of its own. When we were there we had the place to ourselves which is always nice in a garden, having kids running about playing hide and seek in the bushes sort of ruins the ambience for me. However, that was in 2001 and I believe things have changed and there is now a children's corner and other activities that will bring in more people. Ah well, it was nice while it lasted and the new set up will probably suit a lot of people not everybody can find pleasure in peace and quiet.
After taking in the delights of Kailzie Gardens we travelled a little further down the same road, following the twist and turns of the Tweed, until we came to Traquair House. We knew we'd arrived when we saw the famous Bear Gates which were firmly and unsurprisingly shut. History tells us that Traquair supported the Jacobites cause and was visited by Bonnie Prince Charles who was just popping down to London to reclaim the throne. So impressed by his visit was the then fifth Earl of Traquair, that he proclaimed that the Bear Gates would not be opened again until a Stuart was back on the throne.
So with the front gates firmly still shut, we followed the rest of the visitors and went in through the tradesman's entrance. Traquair House has grown over the years and is now a magnificent building with extensive grounds. When walking around the property one really gets a feel for Scotland and what it must have been like living there all those years ago. It is hard to describe, but the place had an authentic atmosphere especially when compared with some of the homogonised houses that are owned by the National Trust in England.
I guess it has come a long way since it was originally build in 1107 to serve as a hunting lodge for the upper classes of Scottish society. At that time the place would have been surround by thousands of acres of the Ettrick forrest and full of wolves, deer, boar and wild cats.
Beside visiting the house and walking around the grounds, we also took in a visit to its own brewery, which is pretty unique for a stately home. The last thing we did before leaving Traquair was to take a look at the craft shop and while we were in there Terry Anne got talking to one of the crafts people. The upshot was that he told her that if she liked to see beautiful things that a visit to Rosslyn Chapel should be a must. Now this was before the Da vinci code, and we'd never heard of the place, but we would keep it mind for a visit later in the week if we got a chance.
Anyway, having taken a walk around Peebles, strolled through Kailzie gardens and crawled around Traquair House, we reckoned we'd done enough for our first day in the Borders and went back to our noisy caravan for a rest.
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