Galashiels

Galashiels is a town in the Scottish Borders, 33 miles (53 km) south of Edinburgh. It's a former mill town which is now part of commuterland for the city, and in 2016 had a population of about 12,600.

"Shiels" means shelters, shepherd's huts. There's no sure explanation of "Gala" but it doesn't denote "gala events" - that's from khil'a or khala in Arabic and Hindi, meaning your fanciest clothes.

Understand

"Man with a sheep" statue in Market Square

Galashiels (often shortened to "Gala") is at the confluence of the Tweed and Gala Water, and a little way north of the confluence of the Tweed and Ettrick Water. This puts it astride a natural transport route between Edinburgh and Carlisle, and the rivers were harnessed to power mills, to process wool from the sheep dotting the hillsides above. The local textile industry got going from 1800 and mostly wove high-end products such as tweed and tartan - it couldn't compete in the cheap mass market with the Yorkshire mills. In 1883 a School of Textiles was established, which is now a department of Heriot Watt University. Like other Borders towns, Galashiels suffered from foreign competition in the late 20th century, and became run-down. The low point was the closure of the railway in 1969.

It grew again as a commuter town in the 21st century and eventually the railway returned. However this left it without an identity or key attraction of its own, though it's close to grandiose Abbotsford House. But in 2021 Galashiels became the permanent home of the Great Tapestry of Scotland, which celebrates 12,000 of years of Scottish history through the medium of its textiles.

Get in

Trains from Edinburgh run hourly and take one hour via Eskbank (for Dalkeith and Mining Museum), Gorebridge and Stow, and continue to Tweedbank. In 2023 an adult return is about £13. The line is busy with city commuters in rush hours, but visitors day-tripping outward will travel against the rush. The Waverley Line, axed in 1969, previously continued to Hawick and Carlisle. The section to Edinburgh reopened in 2015 but there are no plans to rebuild the southern section, or to extend the line to Melrose and Jedburgh.

1 Interchange is the rail and bus station. There are ticket machines, a cafe and toilets, and waiting room. There is step-free access to the sole platform. Town amenities are within a short walk.

2 Tweedbank the terminus of the railway is a mile's walk to Abbotsford House.

Borders Bus X95 runs hourly M-Sa from Carlisle along the A7, via Langholm, Hawick, Selkirk, Galashiels, Stow, Newtongrange and Eskbank to Edinburgh. On Sunday only four buses run between Carlisle and Hawick, but the rest of the route is still hourly.

Bus X62 runs between Edinburgh and Melrose via Galashiels, Innerleithen and Peebles, a roundabout route taking 2 hr 30 min.

Bus 60 runs from Berwick-upon-Tweed every couple of hours, taking two hours via Chirnside, Duns, Greenlaw, Melrose and Borders General Hospital.

Bus 67 also runs from Berwick, via Norham, Cornhill, Coldstream and Kelso, whence it becomes an hourly service.

Bus 68 runs hourly from Jedburgh, taking an hour via Ancrum, St Boswells, Melrose and Borders General Hospital.

By car or bike from Edinburgh follow A7. This was the historic route from northwest England via Gretna, but nowadays most vehicles take M74 to the west and bypass Galashiels.

Get around

For Abbotsford House take any bus towards Melrose and get off just beyond the Tweed bridge. They're every 30 min or so, via Tweedbank and Borders General Hospital.

The main taxi operator in town is Five Star (☏ +44 1896 756789).

See

• 1 Great Tapestry of Scotland, 14 High St TD1 1SD, ☏ +44 1896 809354. Apr-Oct daily, Nov-Mar Th-M 9:30AM-5PM. Tapestry depicting the history of Scotland, 143-m-long (469 ft) with 160 panels. The idea of author Alexander McCall-Smith, it was hand-stitched by over 1000 contributors and completed in 2013. It used to tour, but it's now on permanent display here. The panel depicting Rosslyn Chapel was stolen, but a replacement made by 2017. The "People's Panel" was an addition by visitors which now hangs in the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. Adult £10.50, conc £9.50, child £4.50. (updated Mar 2022)
• 2 Old Gala House, Scott Cres TD1 3JS, ☏ +44 1896 752611. Jul-Oct: M-Sa 10AM-4PM, Su 1-4PM. Built as a turret in 1497 but extended into a mansion in 1583, it now houses a local history museum and has attractive gardens. Donation. (updated Mar 2022)
• 3 Abbotsford House the former home and gardens of Sir Walter Scott are just across the river east into Melrose, but closer to Galashiels.
• 4 Buckholm is the ruin of a tower house of 1582. There are lurid legends of the misdeeds of its 17th-century owner James Pringle. But an 18th-century vicar exorcised the tower, and scotched its appeal for ghost-tourism.
• 5 Torwoodlee Broch is the fragments of an Iron Age redoubt. It was probably built around 100 AD when the Romans withdrew from Scotland, then destroyed when they returned in 140 AD.
• 6 Bow Castle two miles north is a similar broch, probably built then wrecked at the same time as Torwoodlee. Its masonry suggests an Orkney craftsman. It's well smashed up and the rubble has been heaped into a cairn.

Do

Great Tapestry of Scotland

• What's on? Listen to TD1 Radio on 106.5 FM or Radio Borders on 96.8 FM. Or read the Border Telegraph.
• Cinema: Pavilion on Market St shows mainstream releases.
• MacArts is a music and live entertainment venue on Bridge St.
• Southern Upland Way (also called Sir Walter Scott Way) is a coast-to-coast hiking trail that passes just south of town. Eastbound the local section is along the riverbank to Melrose, turning north on lanes and drove trails to Lauder, then over the hills to Longformacus and the coast. Westbound it crosses the hill to Yair then follows a long ridge to Traquair near Innerleithen, turning southwest to St Mary's Loch.
• Rugby: Gala RFC play rugby union in National League Division One, the second tier of the amateur game in Scotland. Their home ground is Netherdale (capacity 4000) east end of town by the river. They host the Gala Sevens in August.
• Golf: Gala GC is on the hill north of the Interchange. Torwoodlee GC is a mile north of town on A7.
• Braw Lads Gathering is a series of civic events April - June, themed around "beating the bounds" by horse riders, exchanging pleasantries with their opposites riding out from Selkirk and Lauder. The main events are held over the final week in June.

Buy

Asda is east side of town on Currie Rd, open daily 6AM-midnight.

Eat

There's always one rider who fails to read the briefing for "Beating the Bounds"

• Hunters Hall, 56 High St TD1 1SE, ☏ +44 1896 759795. Daily 8AM-midnight. Reliable JD Wetherspoon outlet serving decent food and beer. (updated Mar 2022)
• Gala Tandoori at 84 High St gets mixed reviews. It's open Tu-Su 4-10:30PM.
• Silver Star is a Chinese next to the Interchange. It's open Tu-Sa noon-2PM, 5-11PM, Su 4:30-11PM.
• Adriatico is an Italian on Douglas Bridge towards the Interchange, open M-Th 4-11PM, F-Su noon-midnight.
• Zaika Tandoori is at 36 Market St, open Th-M 3:30-9:30PM.
• Paolo's is at 11 Market St, open M-Sa 9AM-9:30PM, Su 11AM-9:30PM.

Drink

• Along High St are Bridge Inn, The Braw Bear, Hunters Hall (see above), Reivers, Harrow Inn, Auld Mill Inn and Quins.
• Brewery: Tempest Brew is near Tweedbank Station.

Sleep

Old Gala House

• Monorene, 23 Stirling St TD1 1BY (By Interchange), ☏ +44 1896 753073. Clean, welcoming guest house. B&B double £65. (updated Mar 2022)
• 1 Salmon Inn, 54 Bank St TD1 1EP, ☏ +44 1896 752577. Friendly pub with rooms. B&B double £100. (updated Mar 2022)
• 2 Kingsknowes Hotel, Selkirk Rd TD1 3HY, ☏ +44 1896 758375. Pleasant hotel with 12 rooms in a baronial pile built 1869 for a textile magnate, and converted into a hotel in 1960. B&B double £120. (updated Mar 2022)

Connect

Galashiels and its approach roads have 4G from all UK carriers. As of March 2022, 5G has not reached this area.

Go next

• East are the ruins of the great abbeys of Jedburgh, Dryburgh, Melrose and Kelso.
• Selkirk, Hawick and Peebles are set among scenic Borders hills.
• Must-see Edinburgh is only an hour away.