Plattling Visitors Tour of the Yarrow Valley – 30th September 2012

This weekend Selkirk hosted visitors from their twin town of Plattling in Bavaria. John Nichol from Selkirk’s twinning committee invited Borders Journeys to provide transport and assist him and Rob Duff with a tour of the Yarrow Valley, St. Mary’s Loch and Bowhill.

The day began by collecting the visitors from the Heatherlie House Hotel. Leaving Selkirk, our first stop was Mungo Park’s birthplace at Foulshiels; here John described Mungo’s two expeditions of the Niger. Our next stop was to be at St. Mary’s Loch and then a walk up to St. Mary’s Kirkyard to admire the loch and beautiful Yarrow Valley; unfortunately heavy rain prevented this. Megget Reservoir was our next stop; despite the rain we were able to admire the surrounding scenery. Arriving at James Hogg’s Monument it was decided that we would have refreshments in the warmth of the Glen Café; here John gave a brief history of area and its famous inhabitants – Sir Walter Scott, James Hogg ‘the Ettrick Shepherd’, Will O’Phaup, Tibbie Shiel and James Renwick. Throughout the day Rob was translator.

Foulshiels – Birthplace of Mungo Park

Travelling back along the valley we stopped at the newly re-opened Gordon Arms Hotel for lunch. There we had a lovely traditional Scottish lunch consisting of broth, smoked salmon on oatcakes followed by venison, haggis parcels and stovies.

Gordon Arms Hotel

Leaving the Gordon Arms Hotel in driving rain, we travelled over the Bottom Swire and into the Ettrick Valley. Sunshine greeted us at Bowhill, the ancestral home of the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry. House Manager, Helen Currie, welcomed us to Bowhill then we were given a wonderful tour of the house by very knowledgeable tour guides, Norman and Sandy. Before leaving Bowhill we had a walk in the garden and admired the stunning view over to the Ettrick Valley.

Bowhill

Our final stop was Philiphaugh Salmon Viewing Centre where we watched salmon leaping up the cauld on their way to spawn. Afterwards we had delicious scones and tea at the Waterwheel Restaurant.

Borders Journeys was delighted to share the history, beauty and culture Yarrow Valley and Bowhill with the visitors from Plattling; despite the weather everyone enjoyed their day.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 1st, 2012 at 11:49 pm. It is filed under Bavaria, Borders Journeys, Bowhill, Covenanters, Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry, Ettrick, Ettrick Shepherd, Glen Cafe, Gordon Arms Hotel, Group Tours, Guided Tours, Heatherlie House Hotel, History & Culture, Individual Tours, James Hogg, James Renwick, John Nichol, Loch of the Lowes, Mungo Park, Organised Tours, Philiphaugh Salmon Viewing Centre, Plattling, Private Tours, Scottish Borders, Selkirk, Selkirkshire, Sir Walter Scott, St. Mary's Loch, Stunning Views, Tibbie Shiels, Tours, Waterwheel Restaurant, Will O'Phaup, William Laidlaw, Yarrow, Yarrow Valley. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.