The best gravel rides around Royal Burgh Of Selkirk And District

Can fly along this car free section as long as you keep an eye on the surface. Beautiful old bridges at either end.

For Goethe, Walter Scott's books were "the best things ever written in the world." With his historical novels, such as the one about the knight Ivanhoe, the Scottish author, born 250 years ago, was one of the most famous authors of his time. Quote from Walter Scott: "I have read enough books to know that the most profound utterances come from the lips of poor and uneducated women and men. Things often come to light there that are perhaps more sublime and moving only in the Bible. Even the poet will only fulfill his true calling if he recognizes everything as vain and worthless that is not a true inner cultivation of the heart." (Text from https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/250-geburtstag-des-schriftstellers-wie-sir-walter-scott-den-100.html ) From the spot marked here as a highlight, passersby can only see it from a distance, but the property itself is of course also included in the koomot system, see => https://www.komoot.com/de-de/highlight/4525502

The tarmac cycle path following the river Tweed from Glentress makes Innerleithen super accessible which in turn provides you with free range to pedal the ‘old’ XC & DH trails, it also provides easy access to the current ‘trendy’ gravity orientated hot spot of Golfie, named so, as it’s situated above the golf course. First off the Old XC, (starts from the carpark over the bridge by the river) it was very sad to see the current trashed & sorry state of what appears to be the forgotten XC Trail, after having ridden it many times since the early eighties! The long climb at the start is currently cut short & diverted with no access up to the top from what I could see? The remainder of the trails are just trashed with the mighty Caddon Bank DH a shadow of its former self. Golfie is an easy pedal across the village with some great coffee stop opportunities enroute. One in particular Findra on the high st deserves a Big shout out, it’s stylish, MTB rider (muddy bum) friendly, sells fantastic coffee & food has uber cool curated music. Oh it also sells very cool artisan made clothing. There are others in the village which all look fab but Findra was the one we stopped at. The Findra staff ride mountain bikes, are super friendly & great for local riding knowledge 😉👍 Golfie is a short pedal through the village towards the Golf club & then a longish pedal up a Forest road with ‘natural’ trails spilling off the side of the hill in varying degrees of difficulty. Be prepared for full on gnar, chunder, roots, very steep drop offs & lots n lots of muddy gloop if the weather has not been kind. No manicured trails here! If you keep pedalling you’ll eventually reach the old reservoir where the views are magnificent & several trail go off in several directions. My advice, if it’s your first time riding Golfie try & take someone who’s ridden it before as some of the trails start off very benign but then transform like Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde! Wear body armour that allows you to pedal, but all the same wear body armour😜👍

Connecting the 7 staines. You can bike from Walkerburn, Innerleithen and Glentress on this path.

Pie shop is a must to visit!

A small loch, wooded on its north shore and a great habitat for birdlife. Folklore records that the loch is home to a bogle in the shape of a 'water bull'.

The River Tweed, or Tweed Water (Scottish), is a river 97 miles (156 km) long that flows east across the Scottish Borders and into northern England. Tweed is an Old Celtic name meaning "border" and tweed cloth derives its name from its association with the river, on account of the hundreds of mills powered by the river at one time. The Tweed is one of the great Salmon rivers of Europe and generates a large income for the local Borders region, attracting anglers from all around the world. It is one of the best Salmon rivers in Scotland.

River Ettrick is noted for its salmon and trout fishing