Email No 9 Galabank enquiries & reservations: bookscotland@madbookings.com
Other places to stay in and around Galashiels
Welcome
to No 9 Galabank - a warm, comfortable one bed roomed cottage with views
of the rolling Borders’ countryside and with its own back garden
giving direct access to the hills.
Recently renovated to a high standard, this listed 18th century cottage adjoins what was the old drover’s inn at Galabank (where Robert Burns wrote the Braw Lads of Galawater) - now our home, and forms part of the group of listed cottages named Galabank.
It has its own parking area to the front of the cottage, with French doors at the back accessing the garden which has a decked and barbeque area.
No 9 Galabank Accommodation
Ground Floor:
Lounge:
No 9 is entered via a small entrance hall with cupboard. The hall leads
to a bright open plan kitchen/dining/living area floored in solid oak
timber with wood burning stove, digital TV,WiFi, and comfortable seating.
The dining area has a round table with seating for four.
The superb newly fitted kitchen area includes:
· Electric oven and hob
· Microwave
· Dishwasher
· Washing machine
· Fridge/freezer
The cottage has one light and bright double bedroom with one super king
sized bed or two single beds if preferred.
A large dormer window provides a view to the garden at the back and a
velux window to the front of the cottage gives superb views to the surrounding
hills.
The bathroom is small but cosy and includes a full length bath with shower
over, wash basin and w.c. The velux window ensures it is light and bright.
The small front garden provides seating and views across fields to the
Gala Water. The extensive rear garden is accessed from french doors off
the lounge, with steps leading to an elevated decked area which gives
superb views over the cottage to the hills beyond.
A path leads up the garden to a stile and the fields and open hill behind
where paths lead both up and down the hill and a track leads round to
the village of Stow
No 9 is warm and bright with oil fired central heating and comfortably
furnished. It comes fully equipped with all bed linen, towels. crockery
and cutlery.
There is a supply of logs for the wood burning stove to brighten any rainy
days. There is secure storage for bicycles if so wished.
No 9 has a no smoking policy and because of the number of sheep in the
area - sorry no pets.
The exact age of Galabank, of which No 9 is part is uncertain . The earliest date recorded is when Rabbie Burns - the famous Scottish Poet wrote “The Braw Lads o’ Gala Water” in the Inn (no 10). This puts the date into the 1780/90s. He inscribed the first verse on a window pane in the upstairs room - the “best” room.
The garden leads to a stile over the drystane dyke giving access to the
hills behind and the Galawater valley.
Lying ½ mile north of the village of Stow in the Scottish Borders,
it is on a direct route to Edinburgh 25 miles north and is an ideal base
from which to tour the Scottish Borders with easy access to Melrose, and
other Border towns.
The Scottish Borders offers a great variety of things to do and see, whether walking, cycling, mountain biking, visiting the Abbeys, Historic and Stately homes, golfing, fishing, horse riding or just relaxing and trying out different restaurants in the nearby towns.
Things to do and See in the Scottish Borders:
The Scottish Borders covers over eighteen hundred square miles of softly
rolling hills, moors, valleys and good fishing rivers.
For the car driving tourist and cyclists there are lovely towns and villages
to discover; castles, abbeys, stately homes and museums to explore; local
festivals to enjoy, and a wealth of activities in which to take part.
As an outdoor centre, the Scottish Borders is unrivalled, offering hill
walkers, ramblers, road cyclists and mountain bikers a wealth of open
air activities, while in the River Tweed and its tributaries, you will
find the best fishing in Scotland.
For the golfer there are many varied courses from which to choose - each
town and many villages having their own course, from honesty boxes to
championship courses. The local association of golf clubs offers a very
competitively priced package to cover all courses for 3 to 5 days. During
week days these courses are unhurried and not too busy.
There is pony trekking, riding, bird watching including osprey watch,
as well as canoeing. The River Tweed offers canoeing from gentle downriver
to grade 3 rapids.
If you are interested in finding out more about some of these activities,
simply click on the relevant activity link at the top of the page or email
us for further information.
Location of No 9 Galabank:
No 9 is one of the cottages forming the B listed group of buildings called
Galabank.
It lies half a mile north from the village of Stow on the A7 and is 25
miles south of Edinburgh.
Stow is a very old village located on the Galawater, with St Mary’s Well; the Bishop’s Palace; the Old pack horse bridge and the old Stow kirk (15th century) being places of interest.
Stow has a post Office / general store which is open seven days and the Cloudhouse café/ gallery - a warm welcoming place also open 7 days.
Five miles to the east of Stow lies Lauder with restaurants, pubs, shops and a bank and its local festival too.
Most of the Border towns have their own festivals during the summer months.
!0 miles south of Galabank lies Melrose famous for its Abbey and rugby.
It has excellent restaurants and shops and lies beside the river Tweed.
To the west lies Innerleithen and Peebles with excellent mountain biking and cycling at Glentress.
Edinburgh lies 25 miles to the North of Galabank - a forty minute drive
away.
A regular ½ hourly bus will stop for you at Galabank and take you
directly to the centre of Edinburgh and on return will stop on request
at Galabank. alleviating the problems of trying to park in the city. There
are also park and ride services operating from Sherriffhall on the A7
and Straiton on the A72, which have free parking and speedy bus services
into the centre of Edinburgh, saving the frustration of heavy traffic
and finding a parking place.
Edinburgh hosts its International Festival in August and has many museums,
historic buildings and places of interest to see.
History:
Galabank was a droving Inn - it sits beside an old drove route and predates
the current road. The drove route is now part of the core path network.
There is a very intriguing reference to Galabank Inn where a breakaway
Church group used to hold their services on a Sunday in the Inn in the
1840’s. With the new road and the Railway, droving died out and
the Inn with it- ceasing to be an Inn in the 1860’s and becoming
a small group of dwelling houses.
Another reference is in 1924 when the good people of Galabank used to “take in” holiday makers. It was so popular that people slept in shifts! and dancing in the street is also recorded. By the 1940’s the cottages had become “starter homes” for young families - some of the older villagers now in Stow being born here.
Email No 9 Galabank enquiries & reservations: bookscotland@madbookings.com
