Press release -
On track this Christmas
FROM grass sledging to wreath making, woodland walks to Christmas fairs, people are being encouraged to use the Borders Railway to make the most of the festive period this year.
Home to a host of craftsmen, artists, visitor attractions and specialist food and drink businesses, there are plenty of ways to enjoy the Christmas season in the Scottish Borders and Midlothian this year.
It is now easier than ever before for people to travel the 31-miles from Edinburgh Waverley to Tweedbank on the Borders Railway, which was opened in September 2015 by H M The Queen and has attracted more than 2.6million passengers to date.
And for those people looking for some entertainment this year, there are plenty of events, activities and treats to enjoy in the heart of the Scottish Borders and Midlothian, and just a short trip from the Borders Railway:
Free Festive Family Fair, Abbotsford, The Home of Sir Walter Scott, Sunday 10th December
Craft and food stalls, free entry to the house and gardens, as well as activities for children including face painting, storytelling, arts and crafts and birds of prey display.
11am to 3pm.
For more information, visit: http://www.scottsabbotsford.com/whats-on/view/free-festive-family-fair
Santa’s Harestanes Happening, Harestanes, near Jedburgh, every Thursday to Sunday until Christmas
Guided woodland walks with all the family, Santa’s grotto, shopping and festive treats on offer in the café.
For more information and to book, visit:
http://www.liveborders.org.uk/news/santa_is_coming_to_harestanes.aspx
Born in the Borders, Lanton Mill, Jedburgh
Grass sledging, brewery tours, café and shop, there is also a new ice rink to experience a magical Borders Christmas, all in one place.
Open daily.
For more information, visit: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Born-in-the-Borders/734135179950603
National Mining Museum, Newtongrange
With Christmas Afternoon Teas, Santa’s Grotto, Wreath Making Workshops and Pantomime, there is lots to see and do at the 5 Star visitor attraction.
For more information, visit: https://nationalminingmuseum.com/events/
Dalkeith Country Park
Enjoy some Christmas shopping, festive food and even pick out a Christmas tree at Restoration Yard and Dalkeith Country Park.
http://www.dalkeithcountrypark.co.uk/
Rosslyn Chapel, Midlothian
Festive Friday for children of all ages will take place on Friday 15th December with arts and crafts workshops.
For more information on this and other events, visit: www.rosslynchapel.com
Christmas Shopping
The towns of Kelso and Melrose offer up great Christmas shopping experiences with their selection on independent retailers, including everything from arts and crafts to furniture and gifts. And for that something extra special – shop for cashmere in the Home of Cashmere, Hawick, just a short bus journey from Galashiels. For more information on all of these towns visit: https://www.visitscotland.com/destinations-maps/scottish-borders/
The award-winning craft beer producer Tempest Brewing Co in Tweedbank is operating extended opening times throughout December, offering the ideal opportunity to stock up on special edition festive gift packs.
For more information, visit: www.tempestbrewco.com
Topics
- Tourism
Categories
- consumer pr
- borders railway
- scottish borders
Regions
- Scotland
Notes to Editors
- Follow us on twitter: @visitscotnews
- VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourism organisation. Its core purpose is to maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Scotland.
- The organisation’s core objective is to contribute to the Tourism 2020 Strategy ambition of growing tourism revenues by £1 billion by 2020.
- This will be supported by seven overarching strategies:
- Marketing: we will market Scotland and its outstanding assets to visitors from all parts of the world, including the promotion of Scotland to people living in Scotland to visit different parts of the country
- Events: we will support the national events strategy and its delivery, and sustain, develop and promote Scotland’s international profile as one of the world’s foremost events destinations
- Internationalisation and International Engagement: we will utilise all our platforms to enable Scottish-based tourism businesses to better understand international opportunities and market to a global audience and we will work within One Scotland Partnerships to optimise the potential of Scotland’s Diaspora and our strategic partners at regional, European and global levels
- Customer Experience: we will provide information and inspiration to visitors both locally and globally via their preferred medium of choice
- Quality and Sustainability: we will provide support and advice to businesses, with the goal of improving the quality and sustainability of the tourism sector in Scotland. We will provide quality assurance to visitors through our Quality Schemes
- Inclusive Tourism: we will strive to make tourism in Scotland inclusive and available to all
- Working in Partnership: we will listen to and work with the industry, partners and communities to shape our offering and support
- To ensure everyone can safely enjoy Scotland’s amazing countryside and landscapes, VisitScotland encourages all visitors to fully respect their surroundings by behaving in a responsible and appropriate way.
- VisitScotland works together with tourism businesses to make tourism a success for everyone and ensure the industry continues to grow.
- The organisation employs 700 people and has offices and VisitScotland Information Centres across Scotland.
- Spending by tourists in Scotland generates around £12 billion of economic activity in the wider Scottish supply chain and contributes around £6 billion to Scottish GDP (in basic prices). This represents about 5% of total Scottish GDP
- The Scottish Government is the Managing Authority for the European Structural Funds 2014-20 Programme. For further information visit www.gov.scot or follow @scotgovESIF
- For VisitScotland’s press releases go to http://www.visitscotland.org/media_centre.aspx, tourism statistics and frequently asked questions go to http://www.visitscotland.org/
- Where possible, a Gaelic speaker will be made available for broadcast interviews on request (Far an tèid iarraidh, agus far am bheil sin nar comas, bruidhinnidh neach le Gàidhlig aig agallamh) 2017 Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology
- 2017 is the year to delve into the past and discover Scotland’s fascinating stories through a wide-ranging variety of new and existing activity to drive the nation’s tourism and events sector, boosting tourism across Scotland.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology begins on 1 January 2017 and will end on 31 December 2017. It will build on the momentum generated by previous themed years in Scotland including the 2015 Year of Food and Drink, Homecoming Scotland 2014, the Year of Creative and the Year of Natural.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology is a Scottish Government initiative being led by VisitScotland, and supported by a variety of partners including Creative Scotland, Scottish Tourism Alliance, Scottish Enterprise, The National Trust for Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Built Environment Forum Scotland, Heritage Lottery Fund, Museums Galleries Scotland and Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology is supported by £570,000 of Scottish Government funding.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology events fund is managed by EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate.
- For more information visit visitscotland.com/HHA2017 or join the conversation at #HHA2017
