We had a long weekend at Nith Cottages in November, and it's a great location. There are plenty of…read morewalks and mountain biking trails nearby, as well as Drumlanrig Castle. The cottage we were in was facing the river bank and it was a lovely tranquil and relaxing location. The cottage itself was fairly basic. It's certainly roomy, and was cosy and warm, and it would only take a few small touches to make it great. As it's promoted as self catering, I would have expected the kitchen to have been stocked with much better equipment, such as a proper set of sharp knives. And there were a few little things that were just peculiar such as the black lampshades in the bedroom which made the room dark and gloomy. Nice little touches like enough toilet paper would also have been appreciated! It really wouldn't take much to make the cottage lovely, and it did have good facilities like a utility room where we were able to leave our walking boots, which had a washing machine and such in it. We were all keen to visit the neighbouring Blackaddie Country House Hotel for dinner on the Saturday night, but unfortunately the chef didn't really seem very willing to prepare something vegan for me, so they missed out on our booking. The menu looked lovely if you like traditional Scottish food such as venison and duck, but I couldn't speak from experience of how it actually is. Far too posh for us lowly vegans anyway! Overall, we had a very comfortable and enjoyable stay here.

Had a high tea today for 6 of us. Great value and delicious food. The Edinburgh bramble cocktail…read morewas very good too.

We haven't actually stayed here but have eaten in the restaurant a couple of times since their…read morerefurb and have had good experiences. The restaurant space is fantastic, it's like a grand ballroom and is just a lovely place to sit and have a meal. With social distancing measures in place, there are fewer tables than they probably would have, so you are practically guaranteed a peaceful evening. We found the menu, although not extensive, had enough variety to cope with most diets, and they are always willing to adapt to your particular needs. Portions were just right - meaning we could manage the full three courses! Staff were courteous, friendly and chatty, and made us feel very welcome.

Lovely little farmhouse located next to the grounds of Stobo Castle (famous for hosting Madonna's…read morewedding, though they keep quiet about that now!), about 7 miles from the town of Peebles. It's not exactly all mod cons - there's no locks on the doors although seeing as its miles from anywhere, burglary is unlikely. There also isn't a shower, you'll have to use the bath for washing. They have a large electric blanket on the bed, as it was freezing in the middle of August I can only imagine what it's like in the winter! The owners are lovely if a little eccentric, and can tell you anything about the local area and anything you'd need to know about gardens and stately homes. They do a half decent fried breakfast and there is bread and cereals available. As a cheap last-minute booking its not bad, though I'm not sure we'd go again

Genuinely friendly and helpful hosts made us most welcome and comfortable in their farmhouse home…read more We had arranged in advance that they would provide our evening meal which well cooked with local salmon from the loch, venison from the estate and I think that the fruit in the pie came from the garden. After being set up for the day with a full Scottish breakfast Hugh gave us a guided tour around their Stobo Japanese Water Garden which for them is not just a garden but a passion. We would recommend this B and B to anyone who values friendly helpful hosts and good food over modernity with the added bonus of seeing around a stunning 4 acre garden.

Large rambling old building with lots of character. Reception staff are friendly and welcoming. The…read morerooms are furnished to a reasonable standard, although some are rather small. Restaurant serves good food (mostly, a friend of mine had a haddock for breakfast that was still frozen in the middle) although the waiting staff are a little off-hand sometimes this may just be lack of training. Good value for money.

I was in town for an evening talk, and arrived at that awkward time between daytime cafes closing…read moreand evening places opening; fortunately the Nithsdale was open (albeit empty) and willing to serve food to a hungry traveller. Their double-stacked burger had been recommended, but since I don't eat meat I opted for the veggie burger version. It too was the double version, with some salad bits and onion rings sandwiched between the two burgers, with a wee bowl of chips and some salsa dip on the side. The veggie burgers were of the mixed veg with breadcrumb coating variety, which I have to say is not my favourite - I'd rather have a tofu or soya version with more texture - but it was tasty enough and certainly filled the gaping hole that was my stomach. With a soft drink and a coffee afterwards, it came in at 12 pounds, which is not bad at all. I couldn't decide whether to give them 3 or 4 stars, but just for being open and serving food at 5.20pm, I think they deserve the extra star.

The Leadhills and Wanlockhead Railway seems to be under a permanent state of construction, and in…read morefairness the chaps who volunteer on it work extremely hard to improve the line, extend the line and generally maintain the line. The line itself is narrow gauge and the train they generally run is some sort of diesal locomotive, although they do have a steam weekend once a year. Don't expect the train to go too far though, the train is purely a tourist attraction and runs for a little under a mile from the station in Leadhills to Glengonnar Halt halfway between Leadhills and Wanlockhead where it abruptly stops. In a gorge. With no view, no shop, and not much else aside from this randomly placed platform. It's of no doubt great interest to train enthusiasts given that it's the countries highest traction railway at 1498 feet at it's highest point allegedly. Anyway, nice on a sunny day, not so nice in the rain and the cold. The service is seasonal, more details available on their website.

The Peebles Hydro Hotel is minutes walk from the town centre of Peebles and has a lovely long drive…read moreup to it. The outside of the hotel is very beautiful and inside, the hotel is being refurbished. I stayed in a family room which we got at a reduced price because the room was quite outdated and due to be refurbished. The room was large and had a very comfy bed. The room had a great layout; the two single beds were further down the room and were separated by a curtain giving more privacy. Our deal included breakfast and I enjoyed the choice; fry-ups, toast, cereal, fruit, yoghurt and pastries. Unfortunately the croissants I had were warm on the outside and a tad soggy in the middle. Breakfast was good but the quality wasn't amazing. At night, you could buy a drink at the bar and sit beside the cosy fire on comfy sofas and chairs which made the hotel a winner in my eyes as I hate being stuck in a hotel room all night. Gin lovers will be happy to know that they have a huge list of gins - there's a little greenhouse in the bar area where they show all the gins they have on offer. Outside the hotel, they had chickens and a bee hive as well as an outdoor giant chess board and small golf area. In the hotel, they have a kids play group and you can hire bikes. If the quality of breakfast had been better, I would've given it 5 stars.

Beautiful, old place in good shape. It gives the true feeling of a historic spa hotel, and has…read moresuperb food. We had a group BBQ dinner and I was impressed about the simplicity and yet perfection of all the dishes they prepared for us. The lamb, especially, was delicious.

Well, a word to the wise, this may not be a totally impartial review as I'm local to this station…read more As in, walk to the bottom of my road, turn left and BOOM there it is. It's a nice little station, and it's handy. There's two basic services from here, to Glasgow and to Edinburgh every two hours. Both of these take approximately 45mins, which isn't bad at all. The last train from Edinburgh to Carstairs arrives at midnight - very good for the odd night out. There's also the sleeper service direct to London, which I've also used. Walk from my door, hop on a train, go to sleep and wake up in London! How good is that??? The station itself is very busy for through traffic, with pretty much every Glasgow and further north service heading south at speed through the station. Ideal if you have an anorak and thermos flask,,, The ticket office is manned in the morning, until about 2pm - after that, tickets are available on the trains. The village itself doesn't have much in the way of attractions if you're planning to visit - there's a primary school, a Londis (with a post office!), a hairdresser, a pub and a couple of haulage firms. Oh, and the State Mental Hospital, but I don't use that. Honest. *twitch* You can get a bus from the station into Lanark, which opens up New Lanark and the likes, so you could make a day of it that way. It's my station. I like it. So there.