Introducing Innerleithen
Reinvented as a mountain biking and activity hub, while never forgetting its roots, the former mill town of Innerleithen offers an energetic blend of adventure and heritage
Whether seen from the High Street, alongside one of many riverside trails or the high tops of the surrounding hills, it’s easy to see why Innerleithen has such an appeal for lovers of the outdoors.
Unlike those that encompass nearby Peebles, the hills here feel closer, more immediate and just that little more rugged. They are of particular allure to mountain bikers who, come rain or shine, arrive in their droves to test their mettle on some of Scotland’s most challenging trails.
With famed downhill tracks that are part of Scottish mountain biking lore, the Innerleithen trailhead near Traquair has long been the epicentre of all things two wheels. Adrenalin Uplift, which runs an uplift and shuttle service, operates a small cabin with basic facilities in the main car park, while all other bases are covered in the town itself. Here, the likes of Ridelines, The Bike Shop Innerleithen, Tweed Valley Bikes and Ride Innerleithen offer a combination of bikes sales and service, rentals, demo rides, pro guiding and coaching that fulfil every possible need.
While the Innerleithen trailhead remains busy, attention is now divided between here and the ‘Golfie’ – home to a seemingly limitless number of extremely technical trails criss-crossing Caberston Forest above Innerleithen Golf Club. The golf club itself is possibly the only one in Scotland that actively looks to cater for mountain bikers as well as golfers, with the fantastic ‘Golfie Kitchen’ on site at the clubhouse.
And although it’s been a while coming, old industry continues to turn into new, with a multi-million-pound scheme to turn the former Caerlee Mill site into a mountain bike innovation centre that will support UK and international businesses to develop and test new cycling products. The plans include the addition of a new trail lab and adventure bike park that will put the town on the map like never before.
But Innerleithen is not just about mountain biking. Anglers come for a very different challenge along the banks of the broadening River Tweed, while there are paddlers on the Tweed Valley Canoe Trail, hill walkers, road cyclists and more.
It’s all a far cry from Innerleithen’s previous heyday both as an important mill town and a spa resort when the healing, if not especially sweet-smelling, waters of St Ronan’s Wells on the north side of the town attracted affluent members of Edinburgh society.
The town’s associations with literary figures Sir Walter Scott and James Hogg (the Ettrick Shepherd) only added to its appeal. In 1827, Hogg founded the St Ronan’s Border Games which is now Scotland’s oldest organised sports meeting.
Innerleithen likes to be a little different and of all the Borders towns that celebrate with a summer festival, it is the only one that does not feature horses and a Common Riding. Instead – even better locals might say – in addition to what is known as Games Week it also has the mysterious Cleikum Ceremonies, added in 1901 as a means of celebrating the legend of St Ronan.
The no-nonsense monk is said to have travelled to the Vale of Leithen in the eighth century and driven the De’il (devil) out – with the annual retelling of the legend a lively addition to the town’s annual calendar in the third week of July.
Such stories and more are among those told in a series of carved sandstone tablets atop an imposing circle of cairns on Pirn Hill – the site of not one but two Iron Age hill forts within walking distance of the High Street.
Both are wonderful vantage points, with views up and down the Tweed Valley and over to Traquair – the oldest continuously inhabited house in Scotland and another fine place for a visit.
There are also plenty of urban pleasures to enjoy, especially on and around the town’s proudly independent High Street. Robert Smail’s Printing Works – a National Trust for Scotland site – The Hub on the High Street and FINDRA are all mini-destinations in their own right, while the town also offers a lively selection of cafes, restaurants, pubs, a taproom and craft brewery, plus plenty of accommodation options.
Throw in a colourful year-round calendar of events – from community to cultural and elite sports – and it all goes to prove that small can still be mighty.