Peebles

Peebles is a town in the Scottish Borders.

Bridge over the River Tweed in Peebles

Understand

• 🌍 Tourist Information, 23 High Street, ☎ [phone]. Open daily. (updated Jul 2017)

Get in

23 mi (37 km) south of Edinburgh on the A703.

Borders Buses services X62 and X70 leave from Edinburgh Bus Station regularly and take about 1hr 10min. One-way tickets cost £5.30 and return tickets £9.60. The main stop is at Eastgate next to the post office. It's the same bus stop for arrivals and departures from and to Edinburgh.

Get around

Most of Peebles can be seen on foot. However there is also a bus service which does run most of the way round the town, but is mainly used for locals and it basically visits all the different housing areas.

See

• 🌍 Neidpath Castle (About 1.5km west of Peebles), ☎ [phone]. The castle is only open to the public by prior (group) arrangements.  
• 🌍 Traquair House, Traquair House, Innerleithen, EH44 6PW (About 2.5km from Innerleithen and 10km from Peebles. Follow the Tweed Valley Railway Path, a former railway line that is now used as a bicycle and foot path.), ☎ [phone]. Apr-Sep: daily 11AM-5PM; Oct: daily 11AM-4PM; Nov: weekends only 11AM-3PM; Dec-Mar: closed. Scotland's oldest inhabited house which also has its own microbrewery. House and grounds: £8.60 adults, £4.30 children.  
• 🌍 Kailzie Gardens, Kailzie, EH45 9HT (About 4km south-east of Peebles), ☎ [phone]. end of Mar-end of Oct: 11AM-5:30PM; winter: during daylight (except the Walled garden which is closed).  
• 🌍 John Buchan Story. Easter-end Oct: M-Sa 10AM-4:30PM. Exhibition about the author of The Thirty-Nine Steps. £2. (updated Apr 2017)

Do

• 🌍 Eastgate Theatre & Arts Center, Eastgate, ☎ [phone]. Hosts many local and national acts and is worth going to see something one night mainly for the atmosphere. 
• 🌍 Glentress Mountain Biking Center (7stanes) (5 minute drive from Peebles. The X62 from Edinburgh to Melrose drives by the entrance of the park.), ☎ [phone]. The largest mountain biking centre in Scotland, and one of the best in the UK. You can hire a bike and helmet for around £20 a day. Routes are provided for cyclists of different skill levels, and are signposted so you won't get lost. It is good for all standards of biking and well worth visiting. There are also a few nice hiking trails in the forest. 
• Stobo Castle Health Spa, Stobo, Peeblesshire, EH45 8NY, ☎ [phone]. For a bit of luxury try this spa. Set in beautiful grounds, it offers a variety of treatments as well as having beautiful guest rooms and wonderful food. Is quite expensive though - but has been known to host celebrities such as Gwen Stefani and Tiger Woods. 
• Macdonald Cardrona Hotel, Golf & Spa (5 minutes away from the town). (updated Apr 2017)
• 🌍 John Buchan Way. 13 mi (21 km) walking route from Peebles to Broughton. (updated Apr 2017)
• St Ronan's Border Games are held annually late July in Innerleithen, five miles east, along with the Cleikum Ceremonies a civic flummery. The next event is Sat 13 - Sat 20 July 2019.

Buy

There is nothing particular that is special to Peebles itself, some local produce is about it. There are many nice, individual gift shops on the high street and down some of the smaller streets leading off the high street worth a look at though.

• 🌍 Tweed Art (MacHardy's), 1 Biggiesknowe, EH45 8HS (just off the High Street), ☎ [phone]. M-Sa 9:30AM-5PM. A small art gallery which sells reasonably priced art from local artists. 
• 🌍 Time & Tide, 22 High Street, EH45 8SF, ☎ [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. M-Sa 10AM-5PM; Su 11:30AM-4:30PM. Relaxed homeware and interior accessories. (updated Jul 2017)

Eat

• 🌍 The County Inn, 35 High Street, EH45 8AN (Situated in the middle of High Street). Cheap, traditional good food in a local pub atmosphere. Filled with younger locals. 
• 🌍 Francos (At the end of High Street next to the Parish Church). A wonderful Italian restaurant. Small, but their pasta dishes — especially the lasagne — is beautiful. 
• 🌍 Prince Of India, 84-86 High St, EH45 8SW. For a good Indian meal. (updated Aug 2015)
• 🌍 Forsyths of Peebles, 21-25 Eastgate, ☎ [phone]. A butcher and bakery. (updated Jul 2017)

Drink

There are many pubs on the high street - nothing too special and again mainly filled with locals.

• The County. Popular with younger drinkers. (updated Apr 2017)
• Bridge Inn (The Trust), Port Brae (next Francos). The older generations tend to head to this pub. (updated Apr 2017)
• 🌍 The Neidpath (in the old town area). Has a good beer garden. (updated Apr 2017)
• 🌍 The Cross Keys, Northgate. Nice when it's hot as it has a good beer garden. (updated Apr 2017)

Sleep

• Many guest houses dotted all over the town.
• 🌍 Peebles Hydro, Innerleithen Rd, ☎ [phone]. Good for families as it offers kids' club, swimming activities, horse riding, etc. 
• 🌍 Cringletie House Hotel, Edinburgh Rd, Redscarhead, ☎ [phone]. Luxury castle hotel and the Sutherland Restaurant. 

Go next

• North to Edinburgh and Dalkeith
• West to Douglas
• East to Selkirk, Jedburgh, Melrose and Kelso