Part of the Denholm Path Series.
Bring your own pen.
Me and My Daughter had the most fabulous afternoon searching out the old Denholm Tea Rooms... we have lived in Denholm for 13 years and it took us this long to find.. they are Well Hidden!
Should you wish to extend your Walk from the Denholm Paths series, you need to carry on up the path from Dont Carve Your Name until you reach the gate, look behind you and you will see a path on the left going down into the Dean (added Way point)There is a circular route to follow, which can be tricky! - take a sharp left turn and follow the path... this can be quite narrow at times. Do stick to the natural path and dont be tempted to go down the steep inclines to cut corners as these all have the river at the bottom!
Once you have bagged the cache and had a good look around this lovely part of the Dean, you can either re-trace your steps or take the path to go behind the Tea rooms, you will need to cross the river once and keep a close eye out for the old steps. There is a waymark on the next cache to the top of the old tearoom steps, these are steep so take care with chidren. We loved this walk and it felt like a real adventure! Enjoy!
You can pick up the Denholm Paths series on the way back to the vilage if you choose the circular route or if you re-trace your steps just pick up the Denholm Path route after Dont Carve your Name.
Please note this is an Abandoned Structure so you'll need to bring your own Cream Tea! We would love to see photos of you enjoying your refreshments at the Tearooms!
Denholm Dean
At the turn of the century Denholm Dean was a beautiful woodland garden, with fine trees and a wealth of wild flowers. It still belonged to the Laird of Cavers, then Mrs Palmer Douglas, but was open to all, with pathways wide enough to accommodate a carriage and pair. Hawick folk would drive out to picnic or take tea at Denholmdean cottage, the ruins of which can still be seen about a mile up the Dean Burn.
It is thought that the Douglas family originally built this cottage about 1730 as a shooting lodge. They would have driven to it through their deer park and entered the Dean at Deanhead, near East Middle. Later, towards the end of the 19th century, the Dean was made into a pleasure garden and the cottage became a tea pavilion.
In November 1898 an article entitled 'Denholm as a holiday resort' appeared in the Border Magazine. It showed a photograph of the tea pavillion and extols the beauties of "Denholm's Fairy Dean" which inspired some of Leyden's "Scenes of Infancy". According to the article "in this beautiful dell, in the shade of the verdant foliage, even on the warmest of day in summer, one can feel as cool as the proverbial cucumber, young and old can spend days and days in restful idling. Cosy garden benches are placed in retired nooks, and here young lovers can make love to their hearts content." Well done ClovenTrout FTF 20.06.19
Between the two world wars the cottage in the Dean was the home of woodcutters who felled timber for a sawmill in the Dean. The last family to have lived there were the Wylies and after they left in 1948 the cottage fell into disuse and the roof was taken off (probably to avoid tax).
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