South of Scotland

Scotland > South of Scotland

There are four main roads that travel north through the South of Scotland from England - the A1, A68, A7 and motorway M74. The trouble is, people are in so much of a hurry to get to Edinburgh, Glasgow or the Highlands, they do not stop.

Well, speaking as someone who was born and brought up in Edinburgh, spent 25 years in the Highlands and is now living in the Borders, I am absolutely gob smacked as to why this is.

The natural environment of the Borders and Dumfries and Galloway is so different from the Highlands - fertile green rolling hills, a much more diverse range of wild animals, flowers and birds and...more lived-in stately homes than in any other area of Scotland including Floors Castle, Abbotsford House, Paxton House, Mellerstain, Manderston and Bowhill House - why are they here? It is this fantastic environment, that is why.

There is some excellent accommodation in the Borders but not enough of it offering products that the market wants with quality and at an acceptable price. Good restaurants are to be found but, again, there are not enough of them. Activities across the whole region are plentiful but if accommodation of the right quality and price is not there, their potential will not be met.

The South of Scotland from Ayrshire to Dumfries and Galloway to the Scottish Borders is a superbly diverse area in terms of natural environment. The Borders is characterised by the presence of the River Tweed (in Carlsberg terms, probably the best salmon river in Europe!) and the towns of Kelso, Melrose, Galashiels, Jedburgh, Duns and Peebles - all with their own unique traditions, mostly with equestrian content.

Dumfries & Galloway has Dumfries on the River Nith, Castle Douglas, Kirkcudbright, Wigtown (the National Book town), Newton Stewart and Stranraer (ferry links to Larne and Belfast) and provision for multi-activities.

Ayrshire has...some of the best golf courses in the world! Turnberry, Prestwick, Troon and 39 others! Golf widows should not fear though for there is plenty of good sights and shopping in Ayr and Kilmarnock not to mention visits to Largs and Culzean Castle to the south.

I used to work in the north of England and live in the Highlands. I never veered off the main roads into the Border country - I now know what is was missing - a beautifully rich and fertile countryside. A great place to live.