Innerleithen

Innerleithen, Scotland

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Geography

Innerleithen is in the old county of Peeblesshire, laterly called Tweeddale before being subsumed into the unitary authority of the Scottish Borders.

Innerleithen is a small town found at the confluence of the Leithen[?] and Tweed[?] rivers. At this confluence the Tweed flows approximately west-east, and the Leithen flows from the north.

The layout of the town is dominated by the surrounding hills. To the north the peaked hill of Lee Pen (502m), and its southerly spur Carelee Hill (258m). To the east the rounded hill of Pirn Craig (363m), and its townward spur of Windy Knowe (155m), and to the south, beyond the Tweed, the extended of ridge of Plora Craig rises sharply from the southerly bank. Thus the town has grown in an inverted 'T' shape north up the valley of the Leithen and east-west along north bank flood plain of the Tweed.

History

The area occupied by the town has been inhabitated since pre-Roman times. The remains of an Iron-Age hill fort are visible atop Carlee Hill, in the form of defensive ditchworks. Ditchworks are also visible on the hill of Windy Knowe and there is some speculation that these belong to an unusual round Roman Hill fort. On the flood plain by the Tweed have been found remains of semi-permanent Roman martching camps.

The town is said to have been founded by an itinerant pilgrim monk called St. Ronan in A.D.737. Certainly monks would have been travelling the natural route of the Clyde and Tweed valleys on their way between the religous centres of Iona and Holy Island. A carved Celtic cross of considerable antiquity has been found on the slopes of the Leithen valley suggesting that a church existed during the Dark Ages. The cross can be viewed in the courtyard of the parish church.

In the local legend of the town's founding "St.Ronan Cleik't the Deil by the hind leg and banished him", a metaphor for the monks bringing Christian learning back into these regions.

The legend was actually formalised by Sir Walter Scott and others who subsequently instigated a town festival called "The Cleikum[?] Ceremonies", and saw this as a way to stop the legends and folktales of the region from dying out.

The festival continues to this day as part of "St. Ronans Festival", which also includes the St. Ronans Borders Games[?]. These happen in the first or second week in July and still draw significant local and tourist participation.

The first written accounts of the town date from the 15th century when it is referred to as "Henderleithen", and at this point it is a hamlet within the Parish of Traquair[?], which with its major Baronial house, was centre of the Parish.

The industrial revolution and wool milling saw Innerleithen outgrow Traquair and become the larger village. At one point Innerleithen had five significant wool mills (or hosieries[?]). Off these only two remain, and these survive by producing high quality fashion knitwear and cashmere for international markets.

The industries which have supplanted the wool industry and allowed the town keep growing have been primarily tourism and secondly timber and forestry. Additionaly a significant proportion of the population now commute to work, including to Edinburgh some 30 miles north.

Tourism

Tourist attractions within the town include Robert Smail's Printing Works[?] and St. Ronans Wells[?], and nearby Traquair House. Popular tourist activities in the area include golfing, fly fishing, walking and mountain biking.

The town has several small hotels including the Traquair Arms Hotel and the St. Ronans Hotel. There are also numerous private houses offering bed and breakfast, a camp site and a caravan site.

To get to Innerleithen from Edinburgh follow the A701 then A703 south from Edinburgh, and at Peebles turn east onto the A72.