Author Description

It is doubtful that the appearance of a town has changed as much as Galashiels has in the last few decades. Once a town at the centre of the Scottish tweed and woollen industry, very few reminders of that age can now be seen. Two major multi-million-pound projects have dominated Galashiels and the surrounding area over the last five years. At approximately 31 miles long, running from Edinburgh to Tweedbank, the Borders Railway is the first domestic rail line to be constructed in Britain for more than 100 years. It has most certainly changed the face of the town centre. Abbotsford House, sitting on the outskirts of Galashiels, and once home to Sir Walter Scott, has been the second project. It received a two-year renovation and restoration facelift, resulting in an amazing tourist attraction just ten minutes' walk from the end of the new rail line in the Scottish Borders. Sheila Scott, a professional photographer in Galashiels for thirty years, provides a fascinating selection of photographs tracing some of the many ways in which Galashiels has changed over the last century, but in particular over the last ten years. This latest edition is fully updated.