About the 2012 Festival
The 18th Scottish Borders Walking Festival returns to Eyemouth and District in 2012. The Festival will take place from 2nd-8th September.
The Scottish Borders Walking Festival is the longest established walking festival in Scotland. It takes place in a different part of the Borders each year and for 2012 it is returning to the historic town of Eyemouth and it's surrounding area.
Eyemouth is a fishing town on the East Berwickshire coast, with a colourful history of being a thriving port for smuggling. Many 'merchants' used the town's harbour, which is still a working harbour today, to bring illegal goods into the country. Georgian 'Gunsgreen House' (image below) built in 1753 by John Adam sits proud and obnoxiously on the harbourside. Built for smuggler John Nisbet, the house is full of secret hidden spaces to store smuggled goods, as well as a 'tea chute' to hide the bigggest import, tea.
The great fishing disaster of 1881, locally called 'Black Friday' is also a large part of the town's history. 189 fisherman were killed in what was the worst windstorm the area had ever seen.
More positively, the biggest event in the town each year is the annual Herring Queen festival, in which one young girl takes on the honour of being crowned the 'Eyemouth Herring Queen' each year. The week of the crowning is full of an abundance of activities and events in the town, and is a wonderful example of the town's strong sense of community.
The surrrounding area of Coldingham, St Abbs, Ayton and Reston are home to some beautiful scenery and coastlines. The small towns are full of stunning landmarks, such as St Abbs Head, Ayton castle and Coldinghma Priory, which are adored by many a visitor as well as locals.
The area is delighted to be welcoming back the Borders Walking Festivak for the first time since 2004, and hope that you too will relish the beauty and indulge in the exciting history it has to offer.
St Abbs Head- Copyright Keith Robeson