Farne Island Puffins © Gail Johnson
The Scottish Borders and Edinburgh may be the stage for the Tour de France as part of an attempt to bring the cycling event to the UK. The idea would involve the Scottish capital and surrounding area hosting a short time-trial in 2017 called the Tour prologue.
Items once used by Bonnie Prince Charlie and King James VI will tour this week in an exhibition called Scott on the Road. The exhibition opens at the Borders Textile Towerhouse in Hawick on Tuesday, and in coming weeks will move to Innerleithen and Selkirk.
Scotland is to have a brand new National Trail and it will have its starting point in the Scottish Borders near Kirk Yetholm. The trail is being backed by Cameron McNeish, writer and TV presenter and will be sponsored by Gore Tex.
The British Horse Society in Scotland is set to host a special charity day on June 4. It will celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and raise money for the welfare and health of horses and will take place at Bowhill, near Selkirk, in the Scottish Borders.
Tourist train operators in Scotland have backed proposals for an upgrade of the planned rail terminus in Tweedbank. They believed that the move to accommodate longer trains on the new line between Edinburgh and the Borders will attract more visitors to the Scottish Borders and could earn the local economy an extra £500,000 a year. Trains include the Harry Potter train Hogwarts Express.
The Tweedlove Bike Festival 2012 will be what is hoped to be the biggest and most comprehensive programme of events in the UK. It will run from May 26 ’til Tuesday June 5 and is confidently predicted to attract riders from across the country. It will also be a massive boost to Scottish Borders tourism.
The Scottish Borders may hold a TT motorcylce festival, similar to the one on the Isle of Man. It is set to be called Race of the Reivers.
The ‘Tour o’ the Borders’ is a new sportive road cycling event set for Sunday, April 29. It is a seven-mile ride starting and finishing at Peebles High School. This is the first such event of its type and is set to make the most of quite and challenging Borders roads this spring.
The Scottish Borders will have almost £100,000 to fund events in celebration of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Concerts and parties will take place in the Borders, and the Scottish Borders Council will give more than £40,000 to communities wanting to stage celebrations.
Phone boxes in some villages in the Scottish Borders have been transformed into tourist information points. Borders villages of Crailing, Eckford and Nisbet have the once-red phone boxes as info points and resources. The iconic phone boxes have leaflets and other material, and also contain information on how to take care of the environment. They also are powered by solar power.
Fashion flashback – Tudor fineries and 40s make-do at Belsay
The catwalk of the past is on show at Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens in Northumberland, with a month-long Fashion from the Past event, running from May 5 – 27. Read more
Perfect character cottage with breathtaking views
This month’s Cottage of the Month is charming Hilltop Cottage, Thorpton, near Rothbury, Northumberland. This lovely old cottage has all you need for an exceptionally comfortable holiday and is perfect for a couple or small family. It offers unforgettable views across the hills of Northumberland and has a lovely garden. Well-behaved pets are welcome, too!
Stunning holiday cottage in Northumberland
This 15th Century Bastle House has been sympathetically renovated to provide a stunning place for couples to stay. Bastles were two-storey stone farmhouses where families would hide behind the metre thick walls during times of trouble. Livestock were housed downstairs. The property is one of the very few remaining complete Bastle Houses in Northumberland. [...]
WIN a family activity break in Northumberland!
www.thisisnorthumberland.com has teamed up with Tomlinsons Cafe and Bunkhouse in Rothbury to give one lucky family of four the chance to win an exciting bunkhouse holiday in Rothbury, Northumberland, right on the edge of spectacular Northumberland National Park.
WIN a break at Newcastle’s newest hotel
www.thisisnorthumberland.com has teamed up with Sleeperz Newcastle, the city’s first and only design-led premium budget hotel to offer a lucky reader a chance to win a two-night stay for two with breakfast.
Win a free online ad campaign at www.thisisnorthumberland.com. Open to businesses and organisations wanting to reach visitors to the North of England and the Scottish Borders.
Clennel Street © Keith Robeson/NNP Northumberland and the Borders by Foot Northumberland and the Scottish Borders are a walkers’ ... Read More »
