Five to Try

Like to step away from the norm while on holiday? Then check out these five brilliantly different experiences that are just waiting for you to try!

If you agree that life is about sampling something new, then you’ve come to the right place. Allow us to point you to five experiences that are all unique to the Tweed Valley. Between them, they will see you fly high above the valley floor attached only to a zip-line, learn how to make exquisite chocolate, create your own gin recipe, catch a show or film in a theatre housed within a former church, and discover how print was (and still is!) created long before the digital age.

Learn to fly

Best to bring a head for heights – and probably a sense of humour given the predicaments you’ll find yourself in! – when you tackle the deliciously adventurous tree-top challenge at Go Ape Glentress. The dramatic forest scenery provides a perfect backdrop to a challenging course that features high tree-to-tree crossings, free-fall Tarzan swings and looong zip-lines – including a stunning ride over open water high above the valley floor. Perfect for kids (and grown-up kids) aged 10 and up (min height: 1.4m).

Distil your own gin

Could artisan gin really be giving whisky a run for its money in Scotland? It certainly looks that way in this part of the country – not least at Peebles Hydro where the nearby Shieldgreen spring supplies the gleaming copper stills of the hotel’s own 1881 distillery. Take a tour or be guided through a distilling class creating and crafting your own bespoke tipple at the 1881 Gin School. You will even be able to keep the recipe to recreate for special occasions!

Become a chocolate master

Join a class at the renowned Cocoa Black Chocolate & Pastry School in Peebles and learn all there is to know about the art of making chocolate (plus pastries and other tasty treats) from UK World Chocolate Master Ruth Hinks. It’s school, but not as you know it!

Catch a show

Now able to welcome the return of audiences, the Eastgate Theatre is ramping up its year-round programme of film, live relays of Covent Garden and National Theatre productions, music, drama, comedy and family shows. An established platform for national and international companies, the theatre – housed in a former church in the heart of Peebles – is also a wonderfully atmospheric venue for emerging talent and local voluntary arts groups.

Become an apprentice printmaker

Step into the world of a Victorian printworks and try your hand at being an apprentice compositor. A living museum of Victorian history – and the oldest working commercial letterpress printers in the UK – Robert Smail’s Printing Works in Innerleithen has barely changed since the 1860s. You’ll learn how newspapers, tickets, posters and letterheads were all printed before the digital age, plus see the waterwheel that once powered the printing works.

Looking for other great experiences to enjoy? Check out our SEE & DO section for a tonne of additional ideas.

Photography: Go Ape Glentress; 1881 Gin School, Cocoa Black, National Theatre/Brinkhoff Moegenburg; National Trust for Scotland