Now in it’s 6th year, the Borders Book Festival has had a record number of entries for the Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction.  Founded in 2009 by the Duke & Duchess of Buccleuch, from neighbouring Bowhill House, and awarded at the annual Brewin Dolphin Borders Book Festival in Melrose, the 2015 Shortlist has been announced….

THE ZONE OF INTEREST by Martin Amis (Jonathan Cape)
THE LIE by Helen Dunmore (Windmill)
VIPER WINE by Hermione Eyre (Jonathan Cape)
IN THE WOLF’S MOUTH by Adam Foulds (Jonathan Cape)
ARCTIC SUMMER by Damon Galgut (Atlantic)
A GOD IN EVERY STONE by Kamila Shamsie (Bloomsbury)
THE TEN THOUSAND THINGS by John Spurling (Duckworth)

We will be looking forward to seeing some if not all of the authors at the Borders Book Festival this year!   The programme is to be released in April.

The nights are drawing in and I can’t think of anything better than rounding off the day with a delicious hot supper, ready prepared and home made by our good friend Sarah-Jane Chamberlain.

Sarah-Jane has a selection of meals you can order prior to your arrival at Howford and Laundry Cottage and we couldn’t recommend her more. If you would like to go off-piste, have any dietary requirements or would rather a tailored quote specific to your needs, please do not hesitate to get in touch. You can either order directly with Sarah-Jane or we can arrange it for you.

Sarah-Jane’s home cooked ready meals available at Howford:

Beef dishes:
Shepherds Pie *
Lasagne
Beef stew with beer and onion*
Indian beef curry*
Beef and mushroom pie with pastry or mashed potato topping*
Boeuf bourguignonne*

Chicken dishes:
Indian chicken curry*
Chicken Devine *
Chicken and leek pie with pastry or mashed potato topping
Hungarian chicken Goulash*
Chicken Fricassee *

Fish dishes:
Deluxe fish pie with scallops and prawns
Fish pie
Fish cakes

* gluten free

Cost per person £4.00 (based on an adult sized portion. Each dish 4 portions min. or bigger as required). Deluxe fish pie £6.00 per person
Delivery £7.00
Minimum order £30.00 ex delivery

It’s Ryder Cup week and the Scottish Borders is abundant with golf courses.  VisitScotland has a Freedom of the Fairways pass which gives you access to courses throughout your holiday.  There are 13 courses within 20 miles of Howford!  Listed by distance closest to Howford, the Scottish Borders golf courses are:

The Woll Golf Course, 18 hole, par 70 parkland course, (7 miles)

Selkirk Golf Club, 9 hole course with panoramic views (8 miles)

Lilliesleaf Golf Course, Dimpleknowe, fun golf course for the less discerning golfer – children and dogs are welcome!  11 holes (9 miles)

Ladhope Golf Course, Galashiels, designed by Carnoustie and Gleneagles designer, James Braid. (13 miles)

Hawick Golf Club, gradual inclining hill course, 18 hole (13 miles)

St Boswells Golf Club, sits on the south bank of the River Tweed, 9 hole course (16 miles)

Torwoodlee Golf Club, parkland course with 2 holes running alongside the River Gala, 18 holes (15 miles)

Melrose Golf Club, at the foot of the Eildon Hills with 11 tees (15 miles)

Innerleithen Golf Course, 9 holes (18 miles)

Minto Golf Club, 18 hole parkland course (18 miles)

Macdonald Cardrona Hotel, Golf & Country Club, 18 hole, championship-standard course. (19 miles)

Lilliardsedge Park Golf Club, 9 hole course and 18 hole putting green (19 miles)

Jedburgh Golf Club, an undulating 18 hole parkland course. (19 miles)

Lauder Golf Club, 9 holes with a par of 72. (21 miles)

Peebles Golf Club, one of the most picturesque courses in Scotland with panoramic views of the surrounding area (23 miles)

Kelso Golf Club, mature 18 hole course (27 miles)

The Roxburgh Hotel and Golf Course, championship standard 18 hole course in the Borders. (29 miles)

Newcastleton Golf Club, splendid views over the Liddesdale Valley (33 miles)

The Hirsel Golf Club, Coldstream, featured in Golf Monthly’s Top 100 Hidden Gems of UK & Ireland, (34 miles)

Duns Golf Club, 18 hole golf course on lower slopes of Hardens Hill, (36 miles)

West Linton Golf Club, moorland course with views of the Pentland Hills, 18 holes (37 miles)

Rutherford Castle Golf Club, par 72 championship course, (38 miles)

Eyemouth Golf Club, coastal 18 hole. (51 miles)

It was a great day at the Yarrow & Ettrick Show on Saturday at Bowhill. Wonderful turnout of horses, livestock, produce and people!

**EDIT – UPDATE To Fishing on Ettrick Water (Sept 24)

Howford is in an enviable position for fishing on the Tweed and Ettrick Water.   A trout fishing permit can be purchased in the local pub, The Cross Keys, Ettrickbridge or at the Post Office in Selkirk on the market square.  For salmon fishing beat enquiries, please contact either Bowhill or Fishpal.  If you are looking for a guide or instruction for fly fishing in the area, contact Bill Drew at Best Fishing Scotland.  Bill has been providing fishing guide/instructor, rods, reels, waders, permits and licences for trout, grayling, salmon and sea trout fishing in the local area for 26 years for individuals and groups; all ages and abilities.
As Howford is so close to the Ettrick Water and the rivers Yarrow and Tweed are nearby too, it is a wasted opportunity if you are staying at Howford, not to go salmon or trout fishing.

The Salmon Fishing Season runs from February through to the end of November but I have been told you don’t really want to fish before mid September.

The Trout Fishing Season is from mid March through to mid October.

There are numerous salmon beats in the Scottish Borders, all within striking distance of Howford.  To see the beats available, go to FishPal.com and click on River/Area Tweed.  This shows the beats on the Ettrick, Tweed and Teviot and their surrounding tributaries.

If river fishing is not your thing and you would rather still water in a rowing boat, Lindean Loch is just outside Selkirk, stocked with rainbow trout and the permits are £18 for 2 rods available through FishPal.  Alternatively you can soak up the dramatic scenery angling at St Mary’s Loch.  See Visit St Marys Loch for further info.

Don’t forget to visit the Philiphaugh Salmon Viewing Centre, just the other side of Bowhill from Howford, on the Yarrow road.  You will learn all about the life of a salmon (they are amazing creatures and yes it is very interesting! My children are fascinated by it) and if you’re lucky you will spot the salmon leaping through the new fish pass.

The Scottish Borders has had a strong heritage in textiles for over 200 years, producing tweed, tartan, wool and cashmere.  Even after the economic struggles over the years the manufacturing still remains.  Confirming the Borders as leading the industry was Chanel’s purchase of Hawick based Barrie Mill in 2012 and the showcase of it’s work in the Chanel Metiers d’Art at Linlithgow Palace in 2013 (video above).

You can visit the mills and various associated shops that are selling the garments and you can regularly find a designer bargain or a one-off sample stock.  Here are the cashmere shops and woollen mills to visit in the Scottish Borders:

Selkirk
Locharron of Scotland, Waverley Mill, Dunsdale Road, Selkirk, TD7 5DZ.  Also has a coffee shop, light lunches and Mill Tours (Monday-Thursday).

Peebles
Holland & Sherry, Venlaw Road, Peebles, EH45 8RN

Hawick
Borders Textile Towerhouse, tells you the knitwear and tweed story and also has a shop. 1 Tower Knowe, Hawick, TD9 9BZ

Hawick Cashmere, Mill Shop & Visitor Centre, Arthur Street, Hawick, TD9 9QA

Johnstons of Elgin and Brora Cashmere share their manufacturing in Hawick. Visit the shop, mill, heritage centre and restaurant.  Eastfield Mills, Mansfield Road, Hawick, TD9 8AA

Lovat Mill, The home of tweed.  Fabrics available by the metre, tweed bags, luxury throws and scarves woven in cashmere and lambswool.  Commercial Road, Hawick, TD9 7AQ

Love Cashmere, Ladylaw Mill, Bath Street, Hawick, TD9 7DP (I have a friend in Sussex who posts her old favourite cashmere jumpers here to be renewed when a hole appears!)

Peter Scott, 11 Buccleuch Street, Hawick, TD9 0HJ

Pringle of Scotland Outlet Store, 2 Victoria Road, Hawick, TD9 7AH

William Lockie, Teviotdale Mills, Commercial Road, Hawick, TD9 7AQ

We are frightfully pleased to be one of Sawday’s Special Places.  For years I have browsed through their selection of quaint, quirky and desirable homes.  Their latest Canopy & Stars list for off the beaten track hideouts is another must too.  Click here to see our review

There is always an interesting Pop-Up to be found on the high street in Selkirk. I can highly recommend the organic artisan bakery, Bread Works, which pops up on an almost weekly basis….yummy!

Here are this month’s offerings:

It’s the Crossing Borders Art Trail this weekend, Friday 29th – Sunday 31st August.  Leading you through the picturesque Borders towns, villages and landscapes, the Art Trail leads you to painters, potters, furniture makers, jewellers, textile and glass artists in an assortment of interesting venues.

Showing in our local venue at The Haining in Selkirk are:

Inge Panneels @ Idagos,  is a glass artist who explores notions of space and place through the medium of glass and using mapping as a visual language and metaphor.

Felicity Bristow, Felicity’s work in paper and print is an exploration of line, material and the pervading spirit of place or ‘genius loci’. Through her work she explores personal journeys through her local Scottish Borders landscape recording physical and emotional experiences by using repetitive motifs or marks to indicate time, space and distance. The Remeandering series of prints shown in this years Art Trail are recent works inspired by the River Tweed.

 Niall Campbell, Visual Arts.  Recent works that explore the idea of the innate as the catalyst in the creative process and the ideas that evolve as part of this journey.

Hannah Longmuir,  Hannah is an artist and illustrator who uses her pencil to explore the countryside around her. She focuses on elements in the landscape – a fence post or a bird or a leaf – and draws attention to the detail. She likes her drawings to be delicate, calm, and filled with character.

Lynda Marwood, My work inhabits the space between abstraction and figuration. My inspiration comes from the act of painting and drawing and how my senses respond to the world around me. My process involves creating a dialogue between the object, the materials and my senses in an attempt to find a visual resolution.

Good news this week, we have been selected to appear on Vernon’s Choice of the 100 Best Self Catering Scotland.   There are over 5000 self catering properties in Scotland so we’re pretty chuffed.  Thank you Vernon!