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Peebles is a large town on the River Tweed, once involved with the wool trade and later a centre of tourism. Now a bedroom community for Edinburgh, Peebles still attracts its share of visitors for short breaks or longer holidays.
Attractions and Activities
Six kilometres west of Peebles lies Kailzie Gardens. While the gardens themselves are delightful, with a formal walled garden and landscaped walks throughout the grounds, there is much more to Kailzie than just landscaping. An eighteen hole putting green and a stocked trout pond attract more active visitors. Children will find an extensive play area, and wildlife lovers will be pleased by the views of ospreys from the centre's hides.
The ruins of Neidpath Castle stands two kilometres west of Peebles. The lofty tower is actually an L-plan, although the short leg of the L is very short indeed. The battlements are roofed and the sentry walk is a balcony with a balustrade. Two of the windows still have their protective iron bars. Within the castle a small collection of local artifacts is on display. Like many castles it has its ghost. Jean Douglas, Sir Walter Scott's Maid of Neidpath, was the youngest daughter of the Earl of March. Her family sent an unsuitable lover away, and Jean so pined and dwindled that her lover did not recognise her when he came home. Jean died of a broken heart, but her ghost is said to wander the halls still, wearing a long dark gown with a white collar.
The old parish church in Peebles looms over one end of the High Street high above the Tweed Bridge. The church can seat up to 1300 people. Its interior contains 22 paintings by a previous minister illustrating Old Testament scenes and stained glass lancet windows dating from the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth. The church had one large bell when it was dedicated in 1887 that had been recast from two earlier bells, but a carillon of thirteen bells was added in 1931.
An older church was St. Andrew's, which was destroyed by Henry VIII. Its tower survives, the oldest surviving building in Peebles. It stands in the middle of the graveyard, where interested visitors can inspect many elaborately carved gravestones with symbols of mortality.
Access and Places to Stay
Peebles sits at the junction of the A72 running parallel to the Tweed and the A703 Edinburgh Road. The nearest rail stations are thirty kilometres away in Wester Hailes or Carstairs. Local bus and motor coach service is first rate, but the best way to see Peebles and its environs is to hire a car or bring one along.
Lodging in Peebles ranges from luxury spa hotels to economy B&Bs, with every level of accommodation in between well represented. Shopping in the town is particularly interesting, since Peebles is said to have the densest concentration of shoe stores in the whole of the UK. Hungry visitors may patronize tea rooms and takeaways or opt for more elaborate meals and full service restaurants. The wide variety of public houses in Peebles make it a great venue for pub crawls as part of a visit.
Accommodation in Peebles
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