{"id":594231,"date":"2025-11-26T04:18:24","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T04:18:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/594231\/"},"modified":"2025-11-26T04:18:24","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T04:18:24","slug":"scotlands-best-pub-is-hidden-gem-in-scottish-borders-with-cosy-fireplace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/594231\/","title":{"rendered":"Scotland’s ‘best pub’ is hidden gem in Scottish Borders with cosy fireplace"},"content":{"rendered":"

The inn serves up drinks from breweries and distilleries all over the country.This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more<\/a>\"CrossThe pub features a restaurant and rooms(Image: Cross Keys Inn, Ettrickbridge by\u00a0Jim Barton, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons)<\/p>\n

Scotland is home to so many pubs that it is impossible to list them all, let alone visit each one. For those looking for inspiration on where to head for some food and drink, one inn was recently crowned the best in the country.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, November 20, the winners of the annual Scottish Thistle Awards<\/a> were announced. The awards, which are organised by VisitScotland, celebrate the very best of Scotland’s tourism<\/a> and events industries.<\/p>\n

Taking home the prize for Best Bar or Pub for the third year in a row at the Scottish Thistle Awards was the Cross Keys Inn Ettrickbridge<\/a> in the Scottish Borders. The pub<\/a> and restaurant with rooms is located in the village of Ettrickbridge, around 13 miles from the town of Galashiels.<\/p>\n

Owned by Rory and Vicki Steel, the Cross Keys Inn Ettrickbridge features cosy interiors with an open fireplace. Its seven dog-friendly bedrooms each benefit from a television<\/a>, a guest library, and luxury toiletries.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Job opportunity on Scottish estate for couple with \u00a360k salary and private cottage<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

READ MORE: Free entry to Scottish ‘Outlander’ stones scrapped as government approves fee<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The pub serves up local ales, as well as a range of drinks<\/a> from breweries and distilleries all over Scotland<\/a>. Highlights include cask lines from Tempest, Born Brewery, and Stow Brewery.<\/p>\n

In terms of food<\/a>, the Cross Keys Inn Ettrickbridge is open for lunch and dinner and specialises in classic pub grub. Mains include fish and chips, chargrilled chicken burger, Thai red curry, and a soup of the day.<\/p>\n

Cross Keys Inn Ettrickbridge staff commented: “To be recognised at a national level for the third year running is incredibly special for our whole team, who work tirelessly to keep our passion for quality, community, and amazing hospitality at the heart of everything we do.<\/p>\n

“We\u2019re so proud of what we\u2019ve achieved together and so grateful to our wonderful team, loyal guests, and local community\u2014we couldn\u2019t do it without you.”<\/p>\n

Accommodation at the Cross Keys Inn Ettrickbridge is available through Booking.com<\/a>. An overnight stay for two can be booked at a price of \u00a3112.<\/p>\n

The Cross Keys Inn Ettrickbridge <\/a>has an overall rating of 9.2 out of 10 on Booking.com based on 342 reviews. Recent guests have praised the accommodation as “amazing” and “wonderful”, though one described their evening meal as “disappointing”.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, another accommodation option in the area is The County Hotel <\/a>in Selkirk. An overnight stay for two at the hotel can be booked for \u00a3145.78 through Booking.com.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe County Hotel(Image: Booking.com)<\/p>\n

Situated in the centre of Selkirk, the former coaching inn’s rooms feature tea and coffee facilities, Freeview TV, and en-suite bathrooms with walk-in showers. Guests are also provided with mineral water, designer toiletries, and free Wi-Fi.<\/p>\n

On Booking.com<\/a>, The County Hotel has a rating of 7.5 out of 10 based on 412 reviews. Positive feedback has focused on the hotel’s “good value for money” and “comfortable” beds, while others criticised its self check-in system.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, those looking for self-catered accommodation in the Scottish Borders can rent out Tweed Apartment near Melrose through Sykes Holiday Cottages<\/a>. The property, which sleeps up to four guests, can be booked for \u00a3437 for three nights.<\/p>\n

\"TweedTweed Apartment(Image: Sykes Holiday Cottages)<\/p>\n

Tweed Apartment <\/a>features two bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen, and a sitting-slash-dining room with a French door leading out to a Juliet balcony. It has been praised by guests as “absolutely marvellous” and “comfortable”, though one visitor stated that “the size and layout of the kitchen became a nuisance”.<\/p>\n

More information can be found on the Cross Keys Inn Ettrickbridge website<\/a>. Meanwhile, the full list of winners at the 2025 Thistle Awards can be found on the VisitScotland website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The inn serves up drinks from breweries and distilleries all over the country.This article contains affiliate links, we…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":594232,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5009],"tags":[35060,768,748,1203,4884,30864,2406,1889,712,5007,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-594231","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-scotland","8":"tag-bars-and-nightclubs","9":"tag-borders","10":"tag-britain","11":"tag-food","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-holiday-cottages-and-villas","14":"tag-holidays","15":"tag-pubs","16":"tag-scotland","17":"tag-staycations","18":"tag-uk","19":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115614076825514496","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594231","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=594231"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594231\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/594232"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=594231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=594231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=594231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}