Paul Godbold, Founder of Luxurious Magazine and his wife Natasha stay at the Roxburghe Hotel & Golf Course on their recent visit to the United Kingdom sampling the incredible beauty of the Scottish border regions
Although England was for many years our home, we had not found the time to explore Scotland. From where we lived on the South Coast, Scotland is still a long way to travel, so this time, perfectly situated in our temporary base in Northern England both the timing, work-load and location ensured that no obstacles would be in place and we would have the opportunity to sample the delights of Bonnie Scotland.
Driving from our base in Lancashire was a true pleasure, first we had the incredible beauty of the English Lake District to admire then as we came to the Scottish borders via the historic town of Gretna Green we had the magnificence of the Scottish countryside to look at. You might think that the word magnificence is a little over the top, but believe me when I say that the long winding roads, imposing hills and countryside on the way to Kelso are truly stunning. The trip from mid-Lancashire was surprisingly short taking about three hours and to be completely honest, I would not have minded if it was a couple of hours longer, such was amazing scenery accompanying us.
Finding the Roxburghe Hotel was relatively simple due in no small part to our faultless satellite navigation system. From the access road you can see nothing of the hotel, gardens and golf club aside from a welcome sign adjacent to two stone entrance columns, a lodge house and tree-lined driveway. During our drive in we had to marvel at the lush greenery ushering us further and further into the main grounds and after a short while we saw the hotel, a beautiful and majestic country house sat in the middle of pure green.
The hotel as we see it today was built in and around the mid-1800s although the grounds that it sits upon has a long and colourful history dating all the way back to the 12th century. In the 1960’s the then Duke of Roxburghe whose family home is at nearby Floors Castle purchased the house and subsequently turned it into the Roxburghe Hotel & Golf Course.
After a very friendly check-in it was up to the Galalaw room (named after an area in the close by town of Hawick). Walking into the room, the first things that grabs your attention are the large and welcoming four-poster bed and open fireplace.
Although the weather outside was dull and overcast, the room was light and spacious and well complemented by attractive period style furniture including a sofa, ample storage space and a decent warm gleaming white bathroom suite with rain shower.
With bags stowed away and suitably refreshed, we headed off for a quick exploration of the Hotel. The interior perfectly complements the exterior and provides the impression that you are in a beautifully appointed classic country home. This is a constant theme throughout all the rooms especially the relaxing Drawing Room with an abundance of seating and comforting fireplace, the Library that is also the Hotel Bar and the Dining Room which we will cover in more detail in the second part of our feature.
During our conversations with the excellent and attentive staff we were told that the room we were staying in is one of the most popular in the hotel, probably due to the balcony that overlooks the rear garden where you can sit outside at the table and chairs and listen to nothing but the rustling of the trees and the birds singing.
As I looked over to my wife, I realised that it was just one hour into our visit and we were both hooked.
Part two of our travel feature on the Roxburghe Hotel & Golf Course detailing the activities, surrounding area and dining will follow soon.