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The Black Bull Lauder - Scottish Borders Hotel
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The
Black Bull Hotel is a splendid Scottish Borders Hotel situated proudly in
the heart of the Lauder. The main A68 connecting runs through Lauder and
connects Edinburgh to Newcastle. This recently upgraded coaching inn dates
from the mid-nineteenth century, award winning hoteliers with many years hotel and restaurant
experience within the Scottish Borders.
Catch a fish on the river, and the chef will cook it for
you. But fear not, they won't send you out to bring home the
beef for the Sunday roast, steaks and burgers. That said,
we are talking local Borders beef, bought as a beast and hung
for three weeks. The Black Angus rib roast is pink and served
with dizzying Yorkshires and your personal jug of gravy, while
the steaks are a revelation of what properly reared beef can
be. Still not salivating? Black tiger prawns come to the table
as crackling hot little explosions of sweet potato and coriander
batter, while a bowl of smoky, creamy Cullen skink could hearten
the most disappointed of fishermen. To finish, ice-cream confections
would sweeten any child (although the boozy armagnac mousse
is definitely the preserve of those above drinking age). The
Black Bull Hotel's a class act, and this is evident not just
in the cooking, but also in the fresh and well-presented front-of-house
service, spoilt-for-choice wines by the glass and the endorsement
of the 2007 Good Beer Guide.
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The Black Bull Hotel & Restaurant |
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Lauder Berwickshire TD2 6SR UK
Tel: 01578 722208
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The peace and tranquillity
of the beautiful Scottish Borders or the hustle and bustle
of Edinburgh, Scotland's capital city, can be enjoyed from
this wonderful Scottish Border hotel set in the peaceful town
of Lauder. Just 30 minutes south of Edinburgh you can enjoy
the best of both worlds! The Royal Burgh of Lauder is a charming
town, ideal for shopping, browsing or enjoying a stroll in
the borders countryside. You may wish to walk into the surrounding
hills, play golf, fish or explore the turbulent history of
the Borders with visits to our ancient houses and abbey ruins
or you may wish to visit Edinburgh and this Scottish Borders
as the ideal base with excellent road links and frequent bus
services. The Nearest Railway Station at Stow is 6 miles away and has regular trains taking you into the centre of Edinburgh.
You may, or course, just want to sit back
by the fire, relax and unwind before enjoying a bar meal prepared with the
very best of Scottish produce in our award winning restaurant. Most of our
rooms are large all are en suite and upper rooms enjoy views to the surrounding
countryside.
We look forward to welcoming you to The Black Bull Hotel and to the Scottish
Borders. |
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Golf, fishing, walking, cycling, Edinburgh (Castle, museums,
Royal Yacht Britannia), Abbotsford and Traquair Houses,
the Great Border Abbeys, Floors Castle. Weddings and Meetings
(35). Children and dogs welcome. Swimming, walking, putting,
trout fishing. Salmon fishing, shooting, riding, golf, off-road
driving -all by arrangement
The restaurant serves some
of the finest food in the country. The menu changes weekly.
A fine dinner awaits you after a day filled with walking,
touring, sporting or visiting nearby sites of interest.
Set in the very heart of the Borders, with
the historic towns of Melrose, Galashiels, Kelso, Jedburgh, Duns, Peebles,
Selkirk, Hawick or the capital city Edinburgh to the north all within 30
minutes - less than an hour away - there is always plenty to see and do.
Six miles south nestling on the banks of
the Tweed, in the shadow of the Eildon Hills, Melrose lies at the very heart
of the Scottish Borders. It is one of Scotland's ancient burghs, set in a
valley which once attracted the Romans. They established the large fort of
Trimontium. Christians from Lindisfarne followed in the 7th century, and
built the predecessor of the current abbey, a little chapel at Old Melrose,
two miles from the present town. In 1136, Kind David I founded the
magnificent abbey whose ruins stand in the town today, where the heart of
Robert the Bruce lies buried. This land of myth and legend, of beautiful and
contrasting scenery, was the inspiration for Sir Walter Scott's historic
novels whose descriptions brought 18th century visitors from around the
world to experience the splendour at first hand.
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History of the Black Bull Inn & Hotel The Black Bull Hotel in Lauder dates
from the 18th century. This Scottish Borders hotel is reputedly the
site of a peel , although no trace of such a building exists today.
The land was sold in 1721 but the sasine does not mention a peel.
The land was sold again in 1737 although this time the sasine does
record a 'high house called the peel'. It seems reasonable to assume
therefore that a peel may have been built between 1721 and 1737 but
it is strange that a defensive building should be built during a period
of peace and prosperity for the Burgh of Lauder. Whatever it's earlier
history, what is certain, is that the Black Bull in Lauder served
as a coaching inn for many years and in the early 19th century it
was one of the busiest inns in the Borders. After the Treaty of Union
in 1707, Lauder was situated on one of the main north-south routes
through the Borders providing a convenient stage where the coach horses
could be changed. One tale of the Black Bull in Lauder refers
to the son (Tom) of the head ostler who got into trouble and was sent
to the Tolbooth jail. Tom was a post boy at the stables, and during
the period of his incarceration, when all the other postboys were
out, a post-chaise arrived, drawn by four horses with two postilions
. His father was in quite a quandary and eventually decided to run
to the jail and plead that Tom be released in order to attend to his
duties. He was duly granted his freedom but it was not long before
he was imprisoned again for another offence in the town! The building
was enlarged in the 19th century to include the section on the left.
Here you can see two tripartite windows, the ground floor set have
an elegant round headed Palladian window with Gothic astragals. The
earlier part of the building, to the right, is typically Scottish
in detailing, notice the dormer windows at the eaves with their pedimented
gables. It is conceivable that the Black Bull was once thatched. In
the past this Scottish Borders Hotel was known as the Black Bull Inn
and was one of several inns in Lauder providing stages for changing
horses on the road between Edinburgh and the North of England as well
as providing rest on the local routes to Jedburgh, Kelso and Duns
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