Latest news with #TweedValley
New York Times
20 hours ago
- Business
- New York Times
$1.2 Million Homes in Scotland
Innerleithen | $1.2 million (895,000 British pounds) This former farmhouse and its series of low-slung outbuildings were built in the 18th century and first converted to a residence by an Edinburgh candlemaker, Thomas Bell, in 1805. Listed as a property of special interest by Scotland's national heritage agency, the home was renovated over the centuries, and the current owners bought it in 2011. The four-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom house is near Innerleithen, a village of 3,500 residents that once boasted a thriving knitwear industry. Part of the southeastern Scottish Borders region, Innerleithen is in the lush Tweed Valley, about 30 miles south of Edinburgh and about 60 miles east of Glasgow. The 3,800-acre Glentress Forest, just north of the property, is home to cycling trails that draw enthusiasts from around the world. Innerleithen Co-Op, the village supermarket, is a short drive from the home. Neidpath Castle, the 14th-century fortress immortalized in Sir Walter Scott's poem 'The Maid of Neidpath,' is about eight miles west. The nearby Galashiels train station offers National Rail links to cities in Scotland and England. There are no restrictions on most foreign buyers of residential property in Scotland. All buyers pay a Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, which rises to a maximum of 12 percent based on a home's value. Buyers must engage a solicitor (a lawyer) to complete a home purchase. Legal fees average about 1,000 British pounds ($1,345). Size: 4,157 square feet Price per square foot: $289 Indoors: The sprawling main floor includes a formal entrance hall, a living room with a fireplace, a dining room and a library with built-in bookshelves. An eat-in kitchen features plank floors, hardwood cabinets and an Aga stove. Off the living room, a heated sunroom has wraparound views of the landscaped grounds. A mud room (called a boot room in Britain), opens to the garden and includes a century-old wooden door. This level also includes a pantry room and a half-bathroom. Upstairs, the principal bedroom features its own sitting room with a working fireplace. There are three more bedrooms and two bathrooms on this level. A staircase climbs from the second floor to an attic bedroom with a vaulted ceiling. The sale does not include furniture. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Times
18-07-2025
- Lifestyle
- Times
A marvellous mansion in Scottish Borders is for sale at £1.65 million
J ennifer Barr's garden is so lovely that she has problems leaving it. 'You can become very happy just being around here,' Barr says about the eight acres of grounds that surround the 19th-century mansion Allerly House. The six-bedroom house, which is in the Borders village of Gattonside, just over the River Tweed north of Melrose, packs in enough to entertain just about anyone morning to night. There's a spacious terrace off the kitchen, ideal for alfresco dining. Next to it is an open-air swimming pool, a rarity in Scotland, where you can enjoy a refreshing dip with views towards the Eildon Hills on the other side of the Tweed Valley. 'I guess the great thing about it is, you do a bit of gardening,' Barr says, 'you get hot, you jump into the pool, you get back out, you start gardening again. It's quite a luxury.'
Times
23-05-2025
- General
- Times
Ospreys share love nest in live-streamed ‘throupling'
The relationship history of Mrs O, a female osprey which nests in the Scottish Borders, is one that soap opera writers could only dream of. The bird, which has returned to the Tweed Valley site for several years, is now engaged in a throuple after last year fighting another female for the prime nesting spot, and stealing her mate to boot. The rare 'polygamy saga' involving the three ospreys — one male and two female — has been captured on a livestream for the first time which experts say will help them to better understand the birds' behaviour. The new young male has mated with both females, a form of polygamy known as polygyny, and they have laid four eggs between them. The trio are
The Independent
22-05-2025
- Science
- The Independent
Three birds share a nest in osprey ‘love triangle'
A 'very rare' love triangle involving three ospreys is being captured on a livestream camera for what is thought to be the first time. The trio of birds – one male and two female – are sharing a nest together in the Tweed Valley in the Scottish Borders. The male has mated with both females, a form of polygamy known as polygyny, and they have laid four eggs between them. They are said to be getting along with each other all right so far apart from tension over fish deliveries from the male which both females, one named Mrs O, want to grab. Viewers can watch the domestic saga playing out on a livestream camera set up by Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) as part of the Tweed Valley Osprey Project. Diane Bennett, Tweed Valley osprey project co-ordinator, said: 'So far things are looking good. The females seem amicable and tolerant with both having mated with the male bird and laying four eggs between them. 'The only tension witnessed so far has been on the arrival of a fish delivery from the male as the two females both make a grab it. 'Mrs O usually wins the fish and flies off to feed but has been seen to return with a portion remaining and letting the other female have it. 'This nest behaviour with all the birds in the same nest is very rare and as far as we know it is the first time this has ever been on a livestream camera with most other research involving such a set-up previously conducted though distant observation. 'Getting to watch this saga close up as the season unfolds is exciting both for the drama but also for the important research insights it will allow.' Mrs O has nested at the site before and has been joined by a new female and young male this year. FLS said the identity and background of the new arrivals is not clear. Although they both have British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) rings which provide information on survival and movements they do not have the coloured, alphanumeric Darvic rings that enable researchers to identify individual birds. While Mrs O is also only fitted with a BTO ring she can be identified from her head markings as she has been returning to the site for several years. The eggs are expected to hatch in the coming weeks. The Tweed Valley Osprey Project was set up in 1998 to help to establish a breeding population of ospreys in the Scottish Borders. The livestream can be viewed at
BBC News
19-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
New tracks help fuel next cycling generation in the Borders
Leading cyclists believe a surge in the number of pump tracks opening across the Scottish Borders can help generate the next generation of Scottish mountain bike champion Kerry MacPhee and rising star, Ben Allan, enjoyed a spin around the latest track to open in Stow are confident the increased facilities are helping drive forward the sport - in the Borders and across who is one of British Cycling's top hopes in mountain bike cross-country, said: "I grew up near Peebles with a pump track on my doorstep and it taught me everything I needed to know with basic skills." Pump tracks are designed to create a safe, fun and inclusive area for the likes of BMX bikes, scooters, skateboards and design combines rolling jumps with turns that teach the basic skills of carrying momentum, balance and the past couple of decades the Borders has produced an endless string of road and off-road cycling the likes of Ruaridh Cunningham, Isla Short, and Reece Wilson have shone on mountain bike courses, the likes of Oscar Onley and Callum Thornley are regular challengers at some of the biggest road races in the world. Continued investment in pump tracks - as well as upgrading mountain bike facilities in the Tweed Valley and at Newcastleton - is encouraging more youngsters than ever onto two who is about to embark on his first international Under 23s season, added: "Even at a small village like Stow you can see the appetite there is for cycling."Pump tracks are a form of acceleration-progression for bike skills - you learn things really quickly."Almost every town in the Scottish Borders now has its own pump track with three opening in the past year - at Jedburgh, Walkerburn and Stow. EDF Renewables community liaison officer Kerry MacPhee competed at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in mountain said: "I regularly see all of the community benefits that come from EDF Renewable developments, but this is particularly special for me."I'm told that since the pump track opened the children are never off it."Pump tracks are great fun - and that fun can lead to them taking cycling more seriously as they get older." Funding for the track in Stow came from Scottish Borders Council, as well as Sportscotland, Scottish Cycling, EDF Renewables, SSE Renewables and the National McBeath, from the Stow Pump Track fundraising group, said: "The roads aren't always safe to ride on for children so we felt it was vital to have a facility like this in the village."Since opening we have children coming from all over the valley to ride on the pump track."
