| Gt Escapes: Scottish Borders 3 |
| Tweeds & twills tour |
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Mention the word ‘tweed’ during your visit to the Scottish Borders and you can only mean one of two things: either the mighty river or the cloth. The Borders region is famous for
its weaving and knitting traditions, and during
this tour we’ll tell you where and how tweed,
and other fabrics for which the Borders are renowned, are made. As well as the mills and
factories mentioned here, there are also some
specialist shops which offer visitors the chance
to buy typical Borders-made products.
1. Jedburgh Woollen Mill
Jedburgh Woollen Mill includes a large shop which stocks a vast array of Scottish clothing and knitwear.
On display are cashmere, Aran and lambswool
products, as well as outdoor and country wear, and traditional Highland dress. There’s also a Clan Tartan Centre, where visitors can trace their Scottish ancestry from the archive of over 50,000 names.
2. Edinburgh Woollen Mill
Next door to the Jedburgh Woollen Mill, this shop stocks a variety of country goods and Scottish
gifts as well as a wide range of ladies’ and gents’ formal and casual clothing.
3. Trowmill
Trowmill is a very visitor-friendly little mill, with a history going back over 120 years. In 1770 it was a meal-grinding mill but was later converted for wool spinning. Today, a factory tour shows how the Tweeds are made. You’ll see how the yarn (from fine Shetland, Australian or New Zealand lambswool)
is led from the creels (banks of bobbins), through guides, and wound onto the large warping wheel. The fibres are then wound into sections of up to 3000 threads, until the correct width is completed. This then forms the warp of the fabric which, when finished, is about 65 metres long.
You’ll then discover how the warp is transferred to a loom beam, ready for the fascinating weaving process to begin. Rapiers (the equivalent of the old wooden shuttles) pass incredibly quickly from left to right, carrying the weft thread through the warp. During this process, the rapier oscillates at up to 200 times a minute – that is, over three times per second – but despite this speed it still takes up to six hours to weave one 65-metre length of cloth.
Just like other establishments Trowmill, too, has an excellent mill shop where you’ll find some of the hats, scarves, rugs and throws that Trowmill makes, as well as a wide variety of knitwear. Much of the stock is sold at preferential ‘direct-from-the-mill’ prices, too, so it may be worth a visit.
4. Hawick Museum
The museum is situated alongside a beautiful river walk which is well worth taking. Until 9 October, there’s an exhibition of Hawick’s world-famous hosiery and knitwear, including archive material, photographs, trade tools and finished products. There are two other fine exhibitions here, too: one on Jimmie Guthrie, Hawick’s motorcycling champion of the 1920s and ’30s, and another on the now-closed and much-missed Edinburgh to Carlisle railway, known as the Waverley Line.
5. Teviotex
Teviotex, the last weaving business to remain in the town centre, is a dedicated weaver of sporting tweeds for the huntin’, shootin’ and fishin’ set. If you don’t know exactly what you want to buy, the
premises are perhaps best avoided as the company is too small to run a shop and does not offer tours of the factory. But if you know exactly what you want, it is the only place to go: country tweeds and luxury cloths are available for sale by the metre, and you can purchase hats and throws, too.
6. Pringle of Scotland
The Pringle family, which started the brand, has
historical associations with the Scottish Borders and Pringle is now one of Scotland’s most readily
identifiable clothing brands. And, with David Beckham having recently been seen wearing a Pringle jumper, the brand is currently in vogue. The recently refurbished shop contains an excellent range of merchandise and accessories.
7. Drumlanrig Tower
This 16th-century tower is home to the tourist
information centre where you can discover the story of Hawick’s own part in the savage history of the Borders region, as well as its more recent past. There’s also a section on the history of knitwear.
The L-shaped building is a 16th-century tower house, which was once surrounded by a moat.
It once belonged to the Douglas family of Drumlanrig, and was the only building left untouched after the burning of Hawick by the English in 1570. Imaginative audio-visual displays, interactive touch-screens, costumed figures, and
aromas sprayed around the building help visitors picture Hawick’s turbulent past.
8. Lochcarron of Scotland visitor centre
This visitor centre and factory is the best place to gain an insight into the origins of tweed. Photographs and exhibits help to portray Galashiel’s place in the history of the production of the cloth, as well as the working conditions of the time. Factory tours are available during weekdays (but not at bank holidays).
During your visit, you can learn how the word ‘tweed’ can be traced back to a single invoice dated 1832. That year, the clerk of Mrs William Watson and Son of Hawick wrote the word ‘tweels’ on the invoice so illegibly that it was read as ‘tweeds’;
thereafter the word made its way into the language.
The cloth itself has humble origins. In the early days, locally produced, undyed, wool was used in the process of making tweed. Jedburgh claims to have been the first town to have made such a cloth, initially in a black and white plaid (chequered)
pattern. Tweed was first worn by local shepherds, who appreciated its warmth and durability. By the 1820s, there was a growing number of tourists who favoured these plaids as travelling wraps as they were light but warm and withstood the rigours of a journey made on the outside seats of a stagecoach. It is from these origins that the cloth became associated with the travelling aristocracy, despite its origins as humble shepherd’s clothing.
Nowadays, Lochcarron weaves cloth for some important clients in the world of fashion including Jasper Conran, Vivienne Westwood and Jean-Paul Gaultier. After your visit, you can go window shopping, or even buy some of Lochcarron’s knitwear in the large well-stocked factory shop.
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Distance 50 miles
Time 7 - 8 hours
Start/finish Springwood Caravan Park, Kelso
Suitable for all the family
Tourist information
Scottish Borders Visitor Information Service
Tel 0870 608 0404
Refreshments
Brydon’s Bakery,
16 High Street, Hawick
Tel 01450 372672
Great, simple food in a bakery, right in the centre of Hawick. Bright, friendly service.
Attractions
Jedburgh Woollen Mill
Tel 01835 863585
Edinburgh Woollen Mill
Tel 01835 863773
Trowmill
Tel 01450 372555
Hawick Museum
Tel 01450 373457
Teviotex
Tel 01450 373231
Pringle of Scotland
Tel 01450 377644
Peter J Scott
Tel 01450 372311
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