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Galashiels, (; ; ) colloquially known as Gala, is a town in the Scottish Borders with a population of around 10,060. The town is a major commercial centre for the Borders region with extensive history in the textile industry. Galashiels is the location of Heriot-Watt University's School of Textiles and Design.Borders College, About our College, accessed 10 November 2018
The town's coat of arms shows two foxes reaching up to eat plums from a tree, and the motto is Sour Plums pronounced in Scots as . This is a reference to an incident in 1337 when a raiding party of England soldiers were picking wild plums close to the town and were caught by Scots who came across them by chance and slaughtered them all.
On a hillside to the north of the town, Buckholm Tower is a prominent structure that dates back to 1582 and replaced an earlier tower built on the same site but destroyed around 1570. In 1599, Galashiels received its Burgh Charter, an event celebrated every summer since the 1930s by the "Braw Lads’ Gathering", with riders on horseback parading through the town. Galashiels Burgh Chambers were designed in the Scottish Renaissance style and completed in 1867.
The Paton Street drill hall was completed in the late 19th century. The textile trade caused Galashiels' population to increase dramatically from 800 residents at the start of the nineteenth century to 19,553 by 1890. (2026). 9781474432979, Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 9781474432979 A connection with the town's mill history, the Mill Lade, still links the town from near the site of mills at Wheatlands Road, to Netherdale, via Wilderhaugh, Bank Street, the Fountain and next to the Tesco/retail development street.
Despite the town's relatively low population, the early 2000s saw many new developments, including Asda, Boots UK pharmacy, Farmfoods, Marks & Spencer, Matalan, McDonald's, Next, Subway fast-food outlet and Tesco Extra. Most of these are on former mill and industrial estate sites, while other disused mills have been converted to living accommodations.
When elected county councils were created in 1890 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889, burghs which met certain criteria were excluded from the area under the control of the county councils. There was disagreement between Galashiels and Selkirkshire County Council as to whether these criteria applied to Galashiels. The case went to court, and the Scottish Supreme Court found that Galashiels was entirely responsible for its own affairs and should neither be represented on nor taxed by Selkirkshire County Council. Further local government reform in 1930 brought the burgh of Galashiels within the area controlled by the county council, with the town being reclassified as a small burgh, ceding most of its functions to the county council.
In 1975, local government across Scotland was reformed under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. The burghs and counties were abolished as administrative areas and replaced with a two-tier system of upper-tier regions and lower-tier districts. Galashiels therefore became part of the Ettrick and Lauderdale district within the Scottish Borders region. Ettrick and Lauderdale District Council used Galashiels Burgh Chambers as its headquarters. Further local government reform in 1996 abolished the regions and districts, since when Galashiels has been administered by Scottish Borders Council.
Galashiels was home to the poet, painter and watercolourist George Hope Tait. Tait joined the Galashiels Town Council, on which he served for more than twenty-nine years. He played a key role in the establishment of the Braw Lads Gathering in 1930, as well as in the erection of the War Memorial and the construction of the new Burgh Chambers in Galashiels. The town was home to the author of the famous Scottish song Coulters Candy. Robert Coltart was a weaver in the town, but also made confectionery in nearby Melrose. The song was created as an advertisement and hence was renamed Sugar Candy when played by the BBC. The song is possibly better known by the first line of its chorus - "Ally, bally, ally bally bee". Coltart died in 1890. A statue of Coltart now stands in the Market Square. The 1985 Marillion hit single Kayleigh was partially inspired by events that took place in Galashiels as the band's lead singer, Fish, spent some time in the town in his earlier years. In 2012, the Scottish Borders Council undertook work to revamp the Market Square with lyrics of the song inscribed into the paving slabs. Fish officially reopened the square on completion later that year.
A new £6.7m Great Tapestry of Scotland Centre opened in Galashiels on 21 August 2021, to house one of the world's largest tapestries and community arts projects. The Great Tapestry of Scotland was hand stitched by over 1,000 people across Scotland and had been taken for display around the country throughout its six-years' creation, the original brainchild of Edinburgh-born author Alexander McCall Smith, whose vision it was to create a tapestry telling the history of Scotland. The new purpose-built gallery, visitor centre, café and workshop space has been created and, on the opening day, saw the 160th and final tapestry panel revealed by chief stitcher Dorie Wilkie, accompanied by McCall Smith himself.
The Pavilion Cinema in Market Street opened in 1922 as a cinema, dance hall and theatre, originally named the Playhouse. The auditorium was converted to a bingo hall in the 1960s. The building was refurbished in the early 1990s, with its original art-deco façade being restored. It is now a four-screen cinema.
Netherdale is home to Gala RFC and Gala Fairydean Rovers, with the football and rugby union stadiums adjoining each other at one end. The football club's main stand was built in 1963 to designs by Peter Womersley, based in nearby Gattonside. The concrete structure, in the Brutalist style, is now protected as a Category A listed building.
Local radio stations are BBC Radio Scotland on 93.5 FM, Radio Borders on 96.8 FM and TD1 Radio, a community based radio station that broadcast on 106.5 FM.
The Border Telegraph and Southern Reporter are the town's local newspapers.
For most of the route, the original line was followed with of new railway line built. The project is estimated to have cost £294 million and was completed in September 2015, with the formal opening on 9 September by Elizabeth II. Trains from Galashiels railway station run every half-hour going down to hourly in the evening and on Sundays. Journey times between Tweedbank and Edinburgh take less than one hour.
The town is also served by several bus routes, operated by Borders Buses. They include X62 (to Edinburgh via Peebles, X95 (Edinburgh to Carlisle), 51 (to Edinburgh via Lauder) as well as a number of local routes.
A transport interchange building was opened in August 2015, shortly before the opening of the restored railway line. It is situated next to the railway station, on the site of the old bus station. It has a café, and upstairs has office space that has been leased to businesses and organisations. It also has toilet and baby-changing facilities, and a travel help desk.
Primary schools
Secondary schools
Further and Higher education
Netherdale in Galashiels is home to Heriot-Watt University's School of Textiles and Design, which is also a shared campus of Borders College.
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