The fascinating, if bloody, medieval history of Hawick – which overlooks the River Teviot in the heart of the Borders – is commemorated on the town’s high street. There you will find a grand statue of a young rider astride a horse, holding a flag triumphant in the air.
The monument commemorates the Battle of Hornshole in 1514, when a band of youths captured a banner from a party of English raiders intent on plundering the town. The skirmish is remembered every June during Hawick’s Common Riding, when riders ceremonially mark the town’s boundaries on horseback in a tradition formally dating back to 1703.
Hawick (pronounced “Hoyk”) also hosts an annual Reivers Festival in March, to recall the lawless clans of Reivers, which once raided and pillaged on both sides of the Anglo-Scottish border.
There is never a bad time to visit, though. At this time of year, the rolling hills and woodlands around the town are ablaze with autumn colour, and it is salmon-fishing season on the Teviot.
Hawick’s history and heritage rival those of anywhere in the Borders, including the better-known abbey towns of Melrose and Jedburgh, which are a short bus ride away. Hawick is the birthplace of Scottish tweed; old textile mills are now community cafés and whisky distilleries, and walking trails lead you into a countryside once beset by feuding border clans.
Center Parcs recognises the border town’s potential, too, and is building its first ever Scottish holiday village just outside Hawick. It won’t open until 2029, however, so there is plenty of time before the crowds arrive.
Getting there and around
Hawick has been bereft of a railway since the Beeching Cuts axed the Waverley line from Carlisle to Edinburgh in 1969. In 2015, however, parts of the old line reopened as the Borders Railway, connecting Edinburgh to nearby Galashiels. There is a campaign to re-extend the railway to Hawick, but for now, take the X95 bus from Galashiels – a journey of around 40 minutes.
The town is compact and walkable, but you can hop on the circular H1 and H2 services to get around. Jedburgh (home to a 12th-century abbey and the Mary Queen of Scots’ Visitor Centre) is a 30-minute bus ride on the No 20 service. Kielder Forest is a nearby highlight, but best reached by car (a 50-minute drive).
Drop your bags
The homely, family-run Teviotside Travel Inn offers comfortable and affordable townhouse lodgings a moment’s walk from the River Teviot and Hawick’s high street. Rooms from £51 a night (three-night minimum stay).
Set within an old manor house on the outskirts of Hawick, the four-star Mansfield House Hotel offers family-run, dog-friendly accommodation surrounded by 10 acres of gardens and grounds. The hotel’s Amarone Thistle Restaurant serves up a fusion of Scottish and Italian cuisines. Rooms from £170, including breakfast.
Balcary House Hotel is a boutique option set within an old Victorian house in Hawick, offering an accessible, ground-floor suite and dog-friendly rooms. Rooms from £140 including breakfast.
Browse the shops
Although Hawick, a former textiles powerhouse, lost the bulk of its manufacturing industry in the 20th century, it is proud to be the birthplace of Scottish tweed. The woollen textile traces its origins back more than 200 years to Commercial Road in Hawick, where you can shop for traditional local products at the Lovat Mill. Garment shopping opportunities abound in Hawick, including at Johnstons of Elgin, which has been producing fine cashmere, tweed and merino products since 1797.
Cosy cafés
The Heart of Hawick Café sits in the literal heart of the community. Located within a repurposed spinning mill, the community project encompasses an adjacent heritage hub, a cinema, exhibition space and a fabulously lively café serving pizzas, jacket potatoes, paninis, toasties and sandwiches (including vegan haggis fillings).
In Hawick’s magnificent Wilton Lodge Park, take a break at the Pavilion Café, where you can enjoy a bowl of hot soup with a fantastic view of the River Teviot.
Cultural highlights
Hawick Museum (free entry) in Wilton Lodge Park provides an excellent overview of the town’s history, including tales of Border Reivers and medieval border wars.
Head to the Borders Textile Towerhouse (free entry) to discover the story of Hawick’s tweed connections, or book a tour of The Borders Distillery and taste the first Scotch whisky, distilled in the Borders since 1837.
An evening drink
Enjoy a pint of Belhaven or a dram of whisky at The Office Bar. Located within an unassuming Victorian building on the high street, the bar has a smart interior and friendly staff.
Dinner reservation
The Queen’s Head is a Hawick institution serving traditional Scottish beers (Belhaven and Tennent’s) alongside modern cocktails in a historic high-street pub. The pub food, which is some of the best in town, leans heavily on Scottish produce to provide diners with Scotch classics such as haggis bon bons, mac and cheese (a Scottish staple) and fish and chips, as well as a pie of the week.
Autumn walks
In Wilton Lodge Park, meandering riverside pathways lead through walled gardens, past bandstands, the museum, café and statues and memorials dedicated to famous locals.
The long-distance Romans and Reivers Route also starts and ends in Hawick, offering access to a 52-mile trail that weaves through the borderlands.
Further afield, there are spectacular walks in England’s largest man-made forest, Kielder, through the sitka spruce and pines or around the vast lake.
An hour west of Hawick is Grey Mare’s Tail Nature Reserve, home to a 60-metre-high waterfall, feral goats, ospreys and peregrine falcons.