The UK is home to many a supposedly haunted location, but some have garnered a reputation as being particularly spooky thanks to some unusual and unexplained goings-on. To determine where is the most haunted, Authentic Vacations analysed a range of popular ghostly tourist buildings around the country that were reviewed on TripAdvisor. Each venue was awarded a 'scare score' based on mentions of 'haunted', 'scary', 'ghost' and 'scared', and the overall TripAdvisor ratings. Sceptics and believers alike who are hoping to experience a glimpse of supernatural activity this Halloween should pay a visit to one of these 10 destinations, ranked as the most haunted in the UK.

Sportif judo players from the Borders took part in the under 12 British Championships held at UEL Sportsdock, London, last Sunday.

Katy Cameron, of St Boswells Primary School, won gold and is British champion 2019 in the under 44kg division.

Maia Thomson, from Melrose Primary School, won silver in under 36kg division, narrowly missing gold .

This was a fantastic achievement for both girls – with the result ensured by all their hard work in training with coach, Peter Gardiner.

Both girls have been with Sportif judo since they were five years old, starting as beginners.

Congratulations have been extended to Team Sportif , parents and the coaching team.

Maia and Katy, along with a strong Sportif squad, are looking forward to the Scottish Nationals in November – with Sportif aiming to top the medal table for 13 years running!

Sportif has classes in Kelso, Melrose, Peebles and Lauder.

For further information on beginners’ classes for children and adults, contact 0189 680 0334 or email info@sportiflifestyle.com.

Past and present students of Jedburgh Grammar are being invited to say farewell to their old school before it closes next year.

The school buildings, at the Pleasance, will be left redundant once the new £32m intergenerational Jedburgh Grammar Campus opens to pupils at Hartrigge Park on April 21, 2020.

Before that, though, former pupils and townsfolk are being invited on a trip down memory lane.

The school will be open for tours of the current buildings and to view memorabilia shared by former pupils and staff on Friday, November 1, and Saturday, November 2.

Refreshments will be available.

Headteacher Susan Oliver said: “The farewell events were very well attended at Parkside Primary School before it closed, so we are keen to do something similar for the grammar.

“We are conscious that after Christmas, we are going to be very busy with exams and preparing the move, so we will be opening the doors to townsfolk in November.

“Historian and former teacher Chris Veitch will be giving talks on the history of education in Jedburgh and there will be displays. Any memorabilia that people wish to add would be most welcome.”

The school will be open between 7pm and 9pm on the Friday evening and 10am to 1pm the following day.

Meanwhile, plans for the opening of the new school are also well under way and look set to include performances by the town’s bands, a rendition of the near-forgotten Jedburgh Grammar Song and a host of other commemorative events on the day.

Tweedbank charity Lavender Touch will open its first shop on Friday after taking over the vacant unit at No 2 Channel Street in Galashiels for the next eight weeks.

The cancer care charity’s festive shop will be opened by Scotland rugby coach Gregor Townsend at 10am.

It will be manned entirely by volunteers in the run-up to Christmas and will sell its own range of natural therapeutic products and sleepwear created to provide comfort and relief to those suffering from the side-effects of cancer treatments.

Other gifts on sale include good-as-new adult and children’s partywear, ball gowns, accessories and jewellery, toys and books, and a full range of handmade crafts, baking and giftware.

Initally, the shop will be open Thursday to Monday from 10am to 4pm and donations will be accepted during those times.

Gregor Townsend said: “I am delighted to be invited to open the Christmas shop and hope that much-needed funds can be raised over the next few weeks through the ongoing efforts of all supporters and volunteers.”

Charity trustee Sheila Scott added: “We’re passionate about the services and products the Lavender Touch provides to those in the Borders living with cancer, who we help treat with our tried and tested complementary therapies. It now costs around £75,000 a year to fulfil the levels of service we provide and most of this money is raised through fundraising, so we have to get creative. We are indebted to all our supporters within the Scottish Borders community and particularly to Phil Macari, who has given us the use of the old Sorella shop in Galashiels for the next two months”.

This latest fundraising initiative follows several recent sponsorship projects including Edinburgh Half Marathon, Border Elite Rider’s Tour of the Borders, The Kilt Walk and The Glencoe Challenge.

Scottish Borders Council will bring in contractors to manage the area’s roads this winter if the Unite union extends its industrial action to March.

As a category one responder under the Civil Contingencies Act, the local authority says it is taking steps to ensure it keeps the public safe and roads open during the winter months.


And it claimed the service will be more flexible than it is currently, which could benefit more early-morning drivers.


The dispute over standby payments for road workers stems from a move by the council earlier this year to put a stop to road workers claiming “a higher rate of overtime than they were entitled to under the agreed terms and conditions” and “for time travelling to work when working overtime”.


Unite claimed its workers terms and conditions had been changed, which the council denies.


Chief executive of the council, Tracey Logan, said: “Due to the ongoing industrial action by a small number of roads department staff in some of our depots, we have been in discussions with experienced contractors around the availability of resources so that we can meet our legal obligations this winter.


“We understand Unite plans to ballot relevant staff on extending the current industrial action to March next year.


“Bizarrely, they are arguing this is because we are making use of contractors to fulfil our obligations as a category one responder – we are, but only because of the ongoing industrial action by Unite which has resulted in staff opting not to participate in the out-of-hours winter maintenance programme.


“Unite representatives have issued a list of demands for increased payments which would only apply to an all-male group of workers such as a standby payment 275 per cent higher than all other council workers. It is astounding that Unite representatives would actively seek to discriminate against female workers.


“We now have well-developed plans in place with a number of contractors and believe there will be absolutely no impact on our normal service this winter.


“In fact, the flexibility that these contractors provide has opened up opportunities to pre-treat roads differently in some areas, which may actually benefit more drivers, particularly those travelling earlier in the morning.


“Our contingency plans continue to make use of all legal means to ensure that not only is our winter service unaffected, but that any disruption to our day-to-day roads operations are absolutely minimised during this industrial action.”


Unite the Union has declined to comment on this matter at this time.

Vandals repeatedly targeting a derelict mill in Jedburgh could be dicing with death, a councillor has warned them.

Town councillor Jim Brown fears someone will be seriously hurt or killed if fire-starters at the abandoned Allars Mill site aren’t stopped.

“Kids have broken into various workshops there, and it’s a bit of a death trap now, to be honest,” Mr Brown said.

“It’s really in quite a dangerous state down there.”

The site, just off the A68 on the outskirts of the town and next to the bowling club rooms and green beneath Lothian Park, has lain empty for at least five years.

And of late, it has become a magnet for either youngsters using it as a playground or vandals causing destruction.

Mr Brown’s warnings comes after youths are believed to have been behind the latest fire there, started in one of the outbuildings at the site the week before last.

Though the original four-storey William Laidlaw of Hawick’s blanket mill was demolished after it closed in the 1960s, one of the original outbuildings, believed to have been built around 1894, remains in place.

The site was bought by Harrison’s limeworks in the 1960s, and it kept one original outbuilding and built a store and public weighbridge there too.

That original outbuilding is now in poor condition, not having been touched for at least five years since Thompson’s of Prudhoe, the quarry operator and demolition firm that took over the site from Harrison’s in around 2001, pulled out of its depot there.

The firm still owns the site but it’s failure to put any security measures in place, leftit a target for the vandal attacks and led to it being dubbed an eyesore by townsfolk.

Concerns are now being voiced that there could be a tragedy as more and more of the interior of the outbuilding, including wood from its walls, windows and doors, are set alight by vandals.

“Kids are getting in and causing havoc,” Mr Brown added. “I’m told there’s very little that can be done, apparently, but that’s not really good enough.

“They’ve gotten in and started fires and so on.

“Just the other week, I got a message about another fire down there. I’ve been for a look and you can see the evidence. There’s not an awful lot there to set light to, but the vandals are managing it.

“They’ve been setting fire to doors and whatever else they can find. My main concern is that it is unsafe and just how easy people get in there.

“Problems like that are appearing in towns all through the Borders. Look at the old Emtelle factory and the hospital in Hawick.”

It’s the abandonded mill and limeworks store in Jedburgh, both just a stone’s throw from the town’s bowling club, that Mr Brown most concerned about, though.

And despite seeing some success in his bid to have the site made secure, vandals are still loitering in the area.

He added: “I got in touch with the enforcement officer at Scottish Borders Council to see if they can contact the owners and see if it can be made safe.

“They have put a bit of pressure on and it has since been fenced off.

“They have been down and things are looking a bit safer, however it is still an absolute eyesore right next door to our beautifully upgraded bowling green.

“But I’ve since have had a report that the vandals may have moved their sights nearby and that a window has been smashed in the outbuilding at the bowling club next door.

“The two park benches, which went missing from nearby High Park recently, were also found in the mill building and have been returned, undamaged, to the park.”

In 2014, an application to demolish the buildings and build 25 houses there was withdrawn after sparking objections over accesibility.

W and M Thompson failed to respond to our request for a comment on the site’s future.

for the buildings and site.

Gala................................35

Kelso...............................12

Gala set themselves up for a home quarter-final clash with Heriot’s Blues on January 25 after this Scottish CUp derby win.

Kelso kicked off and Gala received the ball safely when their passing and handling showed a statement of intent, reports Bob Sneddon.

With the Kelso pack being forced to fail to release the ball in a ruck on their own 22 metre line, Ross Cooke, the Gala winger, converted the penalty to give Gala a three-point lead after two minutes.

Within two minutes, following a good passing movement starting in midfield, Gala full back Ruairi Howarth broke through the Kelso defence and good support and handling from Angus Dun and Fergus Johnston resulted in him crossing the line for a try.

Ross Cooke converted to make the score 10-0.

Despite good Gala possession there was no further scoring for 10 minutes but this was soon altered by Ross Cooke, who received the ball out wide from Gala pressure and scored in the corner.

This was unconverted but gave Gala a lead of 15 points.

With 18 minutes on the clock, Gala hooker Jack Easson took the ball from a rolling maul following a lineout and crossed the line to score a further try for Gala.

This was converted by Ross Cooke, taking the score to 22-0 in favour of the home side.

After 22 minutes, the game was stopped after the referee appeared to pull a muscle and had to leave the pitch.

Fortunately, this being a cup tie, there were assistant referees in attendance, one of whom took over, and a Gala team assistant took over running touch.

Two minutes before half time, Ross Cooke converted a penalty taking the interval score to 25-0 for Gala.

The second half began with an immediate Kelso fightback when, within six minutes, Fergus Common, the Kelso substitute prop, scored a try which was converted by Craig Dods.

No further scoring took place till 31 minutes into the second half when a Ross Cooke penalty made it 28-7.

Kelso scored a further unconverted try by the other prop, Craig Sweeney, in the first minute of injury time.

The game was not over as, in the seventh additional minute, a fast, jinking run by Ruairi Howarth allowed him to touch down under the posts, enabling Ross Cooke to add to his points total with a successful conversion.

This took the final tally to 35-12.

An injury-time try from Kris Rowley snatched a draw for Hawick Linden in a game which could have gone either way.

A share of the spoils was probably a fair outcome.

The hosts showed several changes, with players injured and unavailable, against a Storm side playing their first competitive game of the season with personnel from both Melrose and Earlston.

The Linden were led out by skipper for the day, Conor Gracie, on his 100th appearance, and his side got off to a dream start.

A show and go from Graeme Anderson inside his own half allowed the stand-off to slice through a gap and release Lewis Stormont. The No. 8 romped up the wing to charge over in the corner.

Five minutes later, the Royal Blues lost a line out in their 22 and, when Melrose went wide, winger Robin Sharp touched down to tie the scores. A Jack Wilson line out take put Aiden Fairbairn on the charge and Matthew Mallin burst through to the posts. When he was tackled just short of the line, Steven Bouglas was on hand to dive over and Stormont converted.

On the half hour, some inter-passing between Hamish Weir and Elliot Ruthven saw the latter finish off. A Stormont penalty goal stretched the home lead to 15-10 but a similar award with the last kick of the first period slipped past the uprights.

The Royal Blues were struck a blow when stand-off Anderson was forced to retire. The experienced Graham Colville had come off the bench but departed soon after when he saw yellow for a deliberate knock-on. Carrying an injury, the No.8 did not return.

After Melrose were held up over the line, scrum ball led to Connor Spence running hard and going under the posts. Kieran Clark’s conversion put the Storm 17-15 in front.

Mallin went on a great run for the home side up the stand side and dived in at the corner but was ruled in touch.

Wilson then won the Melrose line out but was pushed out of play as he tried to go for the touchdown.

Some great play on 60 minutes saw Craig Glendinning find Mallin on an inside line and the centre fed back to Glendinning for the winger to cross at the corner. A magnificent conversion from Rowley meant the Linden were back in the lead 22-17.

Put back on defensive duties, the Linden pack did well to push Melrose off their own scrum ball but the home side couldn’t clear their lines.

Following the next scrum, Weir went on a dancing run through some poor tackling and the winger’s fine solo try tied the game at 22-all.

As the match entered the final 10 minutes, Mallin looked to be clean through for a potential score but the whistle had gone for a Linden penalty.

Rowley went for goal but his kick agonisingly slid the wrong side of the post.

Back at the other end, the home team won a line out on their own try line.

They looked to have secured the ball but hooker Jake Fairley sneaked in to pinch it and touched down for what looked like the winning score.

A penalty for a no-arms tackle on Jordan White reduced Melrose to 14.

The home team went all-out for a try, showing great composure to play through endless phases of play, and eventually got their reward when Rowley found space on the outside to cross the whitewash.

Alas, it was wide out and he couldn’t land the tough conversion that would have brought victory with the last kick of the game.

A much-changed Selkirk side simply had no answer to a powerful, high-intensity performance by Currie Chieftains in Saturday’s first-round Scottish Cup tie at Philiphaugh.

Trailing 32-0 after 49 minutes, the home team did manage to hit back with three tries in the game’s later stages.

But, by then, the visitors had already booked their place in the competition’s second-round draw.

Playing into the wind, Selkirk found themselves pinned deep in their own territory for long periods of the first half, with Currie’s task facilitated by a string of penalties being awarded against the home team.

The writing was on the wall as early as the third minute, when Currie lock Mike Vernel took an offload in midfield and cut through the home defence from the ‘22’ to score under the posts without a hand laid on him.

Just before half time, Selkirk skipper Ewan MacDougall was asked by referee Ross Mabon to warn his players about persistent infringing at the breakdown.

But, ironically it was the home number eight himself who was yellow-carded at the next ruck for coming in from the side.

Currie managed to add two more tries before the interval through Charlie Brett and Gregor Hunter – who went on to amass a personal haul of 19 points from his try, two penalties and four conversions – making the interval score 25-0 in the visitors’ favour.

The point of no return for the Souters came 10 minutes into the second half when Currie’s giant-sized replacement prop, Cairn Ramsey, set off on a charge from the halfway line and managed to score under the posts without being brought down.

Stung into action, Selkirk finally found their attacking edge, producing tries for Henry Bithray, one of the home team’s best performers on the day, and Ryan Cottrell, both converted by scrum-half Scott Clark.

Two tries by Currie’s comeback centre Robbie Nelson underlined the visitors’ dominance. One of the biggest cheers of the day was reserved for Selkirk’s teenage replacement wing, Nathaniel Armstrong, who took Bithray’s offload to run in for a try to cap his 1st XV debut.

After the match, Selkirk coach Scott Wight admitted it had been a disappointing result while stressing that meeting a team like Currie in the cup was a good yardstick to judge themselves against at this point in the season.

“Nathaniel coming in and getting a try is brilliant for him, and Matty Francis getting 20-25 minutes is also positive,” he said. “It’s important we keep developing young players at Selkirk, for that’s the backbone of this club – having so many local guys in it.

“That said, we were off the pace today and got beaten by a better team.

“How easily they were scoring tries was the most disappointing thing.

“We’ve now got a couple of weeks to regroup and get fully prepared for our next game at home to Edinburgh Accies.”

Mysteree stormed away with the £30,000 feature race in front a large, sun-kissed crowd at Kelso last Saturday.

The bottom-weight, trained by Michael Scudamore and ridden by Brendan Powell, saw off last year’s winner, Dandy Dan, by eight lengths in the Paxtons Exclusively Kverneland Limited Handicap Chase over 3m 2f.

Michael, who was at Cheltenham, was represented by his mother Maz and they are dreaming about the Grand National with their 11-year-old, even although he needs to go up a few pounds to make sure he makes the final ‘cut’ in the Aintree marathon next April.

One For Arthur, the 2017 National hero, finished fourth in a race that saw the two fences in the home straight omitted because of the low sun.

His trainer Lucinda Russell said: “We are delighted with that, as he was a bit rusty and jumping is his forte.

“All being well, the plan now is to go for the Becher Chase at Aintree in December.”

The card opened with a 25-1 success for Rose Dobbin-trained Do Not Disturb, under Craig Nichol, in the Watch On Racing TV ‘National Hunt’ Maiden Hurdle.

Bering Upsun defied a 640-day absence to land the Tarrag Naegel Novices’ Handicap Chase.

The 4-1 chance scored by six-lengths under Brian Hughes for Langholm trainer James Ewart.

It’s not often that you see witches and warlocks whizzing down the wing with a rugby ball in hand. Such ghostly goings-on were the order of the day at Philiphaugh on Sunday, though, as Selkirk Rhinos players held their annual Halloween fancy-dress training session. “The youngsters had a great time, with some really imaginative costumes on show,” said Rhinos convener Kirsty Cowens.

A motorist has been fined £400 and had his licence endorsed with five penalty points after admitting careless driving.

Recycling centre manager Darren Batey forced two vehicles to take evasive action after he overtook a car on the A698 road between Denholm and Hawick on July 18.

One of the vehicles forced to brake sharply due to his manoeuvre was being driven by a police officer, Jedburgh Sheriff Court heard.

Procurator fiscal Graham Fraser said: “The car driven by the accused came up quite fast behind two vehicles.

“It pulled out to overtake just at the same time as a police officer was coming into the village.

“She had to take evasive action. She was braking heavily and, in fact, came to a complete stop to avoid a collision.

“The car the accused was overtaking had to stop as well.

“As there was a long line of traffic, the vehicle that was being overtaken managed to catch up with the accused’s car and note down the registration number.”

Mr Fraser said Batey, 47, of Fairway Court in Kelso, admitted to police he was responsible for causing the other vehicles to take evasive action.

He described his manoeuvre as more of a misjudgement than anything else as he had not seen the oncoming vehicle approaching due to overgrown bushes at the side of the road.

That excuse failed to impress Mr Fraser, though, and he said: “The bushes would have been a reason not to overtake there and it is a twisty road.”

Sheriff Peter Paterson added: “It seems to me more than a misjudgement.”

A 43-year-old man has been fined £200 at Selkirk Sheriff Court for struggling violently with his disabled sister.

Gurchran Singh, giving an address in Walsall in the West Midlands, pleaded guilty to behaving in a threatening or abusive manner at a house in Dingleton Road in Melrose on September 10 last year.

The court heard that an argument had broken out between the pair after she accused him of taking her medication, an allegation he did not accept.

Young football players should not take part in heading drills at clubs’ training sessions and the practise to be eliminated from games where possible, say sport officials in Scotland.

The Scottish Youth Football association has issued the guidance following the result of research released last week detailing the increased risk of dementia in professional footballers

Although the study doesn’t draw any direct link between dementia and heading the football, the SYFA has drawn up its new guidelines for all clubs coaching children under the age of 11 as a precaution for its youngest players.

Florence Witherow, National Secretary of the SYFA, said: “The SYFA has previously recommended against training drills that encourage repetitive heading of the ball.

“However, in light of Dr Willie Stewart’s recent study into dementia risks in former professional footballers, we have updated and strengthened the advice to our clubs.

“Any drills which involve heading the ball should be removed from all training sessions for age groups up to, and including, under 11s (7 v 7 teams). As far as possible, heading the ball during games at this age group should also be avoided.”

The SYFA the group in Scotland and one of the first football bodies in Europe, to issue such advice. Head injuries as well as heading the football should also be a storng consideration for clubs, the secretary said.

She continued: “We would also take this opportunity to remind all of our coaches and officials that if any player, at any age group, is suspected of having a concussion they must immediately cease playing in the game and should not re-join the match. Coaches and officials are reminded of NHS advice on concussion and head injury, and should seek immediate medical advice if symptoms continue or worsen, or if a player is suspected of having lost consciousness.

“As well as the continuation of our own work in this area, we are keen to engage in further discussions with Dr Stewart around his findings and will continue to work closely with the Scottish FA to make any additional recommendations.

“The SYFA is committed to ensuring the safest environment possible for children and young people to play football. Although there is not yet a definitive link between heading the ball and brain injury, it is essential that we take the relevant precautions to best protect our players.”

A woman convicted of dealing drugs has been admonished after being of good behaviour during a period of deferred sentence.

Alicia Sharrard, 25, had previously pleaded guilty at Jedburgh Sheriff Court to being concerned in the supply of cannabis at her home in Croft Road in Kelso.

The impasse between Scottish Borders Council and its roadworkers who are members of the Unite union doesn’t look like ending any time soon after the workers voted again to undertake industrial action.

This follows the news that the council is prepared to bring in contractors to manage our roads this winter.

As a category one responder under the Civil Contingencies Act, the local authority says it is taking steps to ensure it keeps the public safe and roads open during the winter months.

And it has claimed the service will be more flexible than it is currently, which could benefit more early-morning drivers.

The dispute over standby payments for road workers stems from a move by the council earlier this year to put a stop to road workers claiming “a higher rate of overtime than they were entitled to under the agreed terms and conditions” and “for time travelling to work when working overtime”.

Unite claimed its workers terms and conditions had been changed, which the council denies.

However, the move to bring in outside contractors has angered the union, which claims this will cost the council more than it would to pay its own workers.

Unite confirmed today that its membership in the roads department have voted for industrial action following a two-week-long ballot.

The union revealed that 77% have voted to take strike action and by 84 per cent to take action short of a strike on a 76 per cent turnout.

The union’s members previously took 24-hours industrial action on August 29 in opposition to detrimental changes being imposed to their terms and conditions.

The further industrial action will take place during the winter season when the roads workers maintain effective transport links and services in the Borders region.

Willie Thomson, Unite’s regional industrial officer, said: “Rather than negotiate with Unite to settle this dispute, Scottish Borders Council has chosen to ignore its workers and spend taxpayers’ money on contractors at rates higher than what our members were offered. “Unite members have overwhelmingly voted to fight against the attacks on their terms and conditions, and to protect the long-standing collective agreements we have in place.

2The workers are determined to be respected by their employer and they are righty aggrieved about the injustice being imposed on them.”

Chief executive of the council, Tracey Logan, said: “Due to the ongoing industrial action by a small number of roads department staff in some of our depots, we have been in discussions with experienced contractors around the availability of resources so that we can meet our legal obligations this winter.

“We understand Unite plans to ballot relevant staff on extending the current industrial action to March next year.

“Bizarrely, they are arguing this is because we are making use of contractors to fulfil our obligations as a category one responder – we are, but only because of the ongoing industrial action by Unite which has resulted in staff opting not to participate in the out-of-hours winter maintenance programmer.

“Unite representatives have issued a list of demands for increased payments which would only apply to an all-male group of workers such as a standby payment 275 per cent higher than all other council workers. It is astounding that Unite representatives would actively seek to discriminate against female workers.

“We now have well-developed plans in place with a number of contractors and believe there will be absolutely no impact on our normal service this winter.

“In fact, the flexibility that these contractors provide has opened up opportunities to pre-treat roads differently in some areas, which may actually benefit more drivers, particularly those travelling earlier in the morning.

“Our contingency plans continue to make use of all legal means to ensure that not only is our winter service unaffected, but that any disruption to our day-to-day roads operations are absolutely minimized during this industrial action.”

Gordon’s golden girl, Samantha Kinghorn, heads to Dubai today (Thursday) in hopeful mood for the World Para Athletics Championships.

Sammi (23) is taking part this time on November 7-8 in just one major event, the 100 metres – and possibly in the relay race at the end.

However, reducing her main focus to a single solo discipline has helped a lot with her preparation and concentration, as well as giving her a new directional approach.

Sammi was sidelined for several weeks during the summer by an operation – another reason for reducing her racing – but she has been happy with how things have gone in training.

She’d been concerned about the lost time – but the different build-up had given her a new confidence for Dubai and strengthened her ambition to make the squad for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.

“I feel like I am pretty much back to where I was before and I feel confident that I can do my best and get a place on the podium,” she said.

Memories, of course, are still fresh of Sammi’s glorious triumph in London in 2017, when she became a double world champion with gold medals in the T53 100m and 200m – her favourite discipline – plus 400m bronze.

“Coming away with two golds and a bronze for me was such a shock – I had never done 100m in a major event before,” she recalled.

Last weekend, Sammi also found time, as always, to come home for the Jedburgh Running Festival and take part in the wheelchair race.

“I love the Borders and I wouldn’t be in the position I am in without the support of Gordon and the local people,” she said.

A 34-year-old man has been found guilty after a trial at Selkirk Sheriff Court of two allegations of dealing drugs.

William Kennedy had denied being concerned in the supply of alprazolam in Channel Street in Galashiels on October 31 to others including a police officer.

He had also pleaded not guilty to a similar offence involving heroin at a house in Hawthorn Road in Galashiels on November 1.

Kennedy, of Craw Wood in Tweedbank, was convicted of both charges following a trial, however.

Sentence was deferred until December 3 for the production of background reports.

Background reports have been ordered on a 35-year-old man after he admitted two offences at Jedburgh Sheriff Court.

Robert Ramsay pleaded guilty to being in possession of cannabis in Ramsay Road in Hawick on February 18.

He also admitted breaching a night-time curfew by being in Hawick at 12.22am despite supposedly being confined to his home in Maxmill Park in Kelso between the hours of 7pm and 7am.

Autumn – there’s no better time of the year to take time out of your busy life to breathe in fresh air, stretch your legs and enjoy our beautiful countryside.

And taking advantage of this stunning season is Cringletie House Hotel, which last Thursday launched its new nature/historical trail, in conjunction with Eddleston Primary School.

The mile-long route on the hotel’s estate was officially opened by Professor Sir Hew Strachan, Lord Lieutenant for Tweeddale.

Four years in the making, the concept of a trail in the grounds of the former Baronial castle was inspired by a project undertaken by pupils of the school at the Royal Highland Show in 2015 ... and they have been involved with the trail from the outset.

Not only have they helped with the research, but many of their wonderful ideas have been incorporated, including an open-air classroom and picnic area.

The trail is open to the public and school pupils all-year round, and is designed to raise awareness of nature and encourage individuals to enjoy the health and well-being benefits of being in the countryside.

“It was a great pleasure to open the new nature trails at Cringletie House today,” said Sir Hew. “Thanks to the energy of Jim McKay, and to the management and staff of the hotel, a wonderful resource has been created for the children and community of Eddleston, and particularly for the pupils of Eddleston Primary School.”

Lorna Murdoch, the school’s head teacher, told us: “We, as a school, have thoroughly enjoyed working in partnership with Cringletie House to create a fantastic nature trail over the past four years. Both the pupils and staff have gained in knowledge, skills and abilities throughout this process and very much look forward to continuing our partnership with Cringletie House in the years to come.”

The hotel’s owner, Bill Cross, added: “It was fantastic to see so many people at the official opening of the trail. It is a precious, natural green asset and a wonderful place for both visitors and the local community to explore.

“As a joint development between Cringletie and Eddleston Primary, I am certain that the trail will go from strength to strength.

“I am looking forward to working with the school and encouraging the children to put up bird and bat boxes, and help with the planting of new trees.”