Skip to content
Voykit
Set your trip — dates, party, bagsPlanner

Draft data. Times, fares and step counts are desk estimates awaiting field checks. Unknown times stay unknown. How we verify

Back to Hawick

In the print dialog pick “Save as PDF” to keep it on your phone. A5 makes a pocket booklet; A4 suits a desk printer.

Voykit pocket guide · United Kingdom

Hawick

Give Hawick one night, or a half-day stop on the A7: the town is small, the real draw is the Teviot hills and Ettrick forest above it.

Hawick is a Borders mill town of about 14,000 people, midway on the old Carlisle–Edinburgh route and 50 miles south of Edinburgh. It is pronounced "hoick", one syllable. The centre is walkable in an hour; the reason to stay is the walking, cycling and fishing in the surrounding hills, plus the textile and rugby history in two free museums. There is no railway here, so you arrive by bus or car.

LondonAbbots LangleyAberdeenAberdyfiAberfeldyAbergavennyAberystwythAbingdon-on-ThamesAccringtonAchiltibuieAcleAldeburghAlnmouthAlnwickHawick200 kmdots: other places in this guide
Sketch, not to navigate by: shapes follow this guide’s areas and places, not official boundaries. North is up.
Country
United Kingdom
Best months
May–Sep
Avoid
Nov–Feb (short days, hill roads can ice)
Stay
1 night

Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.

Essentials

Currency
GBP
Money
Currency is the pound sterling (GBP, £). Cards and contactless work almost everywhere; some places are card-only.
Daily spend
Budget £45–70 excl. bed · Mid £70–110 excl. bed · High £110+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
SIM and data
EE, Vodafone (merged with Three in 2025) and O2 run the networks; prepaid SIMs sell in supermarkets, phone shops and airport vending machines, no registration needed.
Emergency
Police, fire, ambulance 999 · Police non-urgent 101 · NHS non-urgent (24 h) 111
Plugs
Types G · 230 V · 50 Hz · Three-pin Type G only; European, US and Australian plugs need an adapter. Bathrooms have two-pin shaver sockets only.
Tipping
Restaurant with table service: 10–12.5% if no service charge is on the bill; check before adding more.; Pub or bar: Not expected; 'and one for yourself' offers the bartender a drink.; Taxi: Round up or 10%.; Hotel porter: £1–2 per bag.; Tour guide: £5–10 per person for a day tour; free walking tours expect £10–15.
Water
Tap water is safe everywhere. Free refills are common; restaurants will bring tap water if you ask.
Toilets
Public toilets are scarce and some charge 50p–£1 or are card-only. Stations, museums, department stores and pubs (if you buy a drink) are the fallback.

What things cost

ItemPrice
Coffee£3–4.50
Pub main course£10–16
Pint of beer£4–5.50
Fish and chips£10–14
5 km taxi£8–12
Borders Bus X95 single, town to town£3–12
Hermitage Castle entryAdult £7, concession £5.50, child £4

Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.

Get in

By air

EDI · Edinburgh
About 50 miles north; bus X95 direct, or train to Galashiels then X95
NCL · Newcastle
About 60 miles southeast via A68 over Carter Bar; check road conditions in winter

Typical fares

X95 Edinburgh → Hawick
about £12, 2 h
X95 Galashiels → Hawick
about £6, 30 min
Taxi in town
£5–10

Get around

The town is small and walkable; the A7 now runs west of the river and the old High Street route is a one-way B-road. For the hills, castles and abbeys you need a car, bike or taxi. Borders Bus X95 links Hawick with Galashiels and Selkirk every 30 min, and runs every two hours to Edinburgh (2 h) and south to Carlisle (about 80 min).

See and do

Known for

  • Borders textile and cashmere heritage
  • Hawick Common Riding
  • Rugby union (Hawick RUFC)
  • Walking in the Teviot and Ettrick hills

Day trips

WhereHowTime
JedburghA68 east by car, about 25 min; no direct busAbout 40 min
MelroseCar via A7 and A6091, about 35 min; or X95 to Galashiels then local bus45–70 min
SelkirkX95 south along the A7, about 20 minAbout 30 min
GalashielsX95 north, about 30 minAbout 40 min
KelsoCar via A698, about 35 minAbout 45 min
Hermitage CastleCar south on B6399, about 30 minAbout 45 min

Sleep

Town centre (High St and Bourtree Place)
Walk to both museums, pubs and the river; guest houses and a Wetherspoon pub on the doorstep.
North Bridge St and Weensland
Quieter, north bank of the Teviot; a short walk over the bridge to the centre.
Out of town (Teviotdale, Denholm)
Hotels and castles in the countryside; you need a car or taxi for everything.

Phrase card

EnglishSay or show
Excuse me / SorryExcuse me / Sorry
Thank youThank you
PleasePlease
How much is it?How much is it?
Can I pay by card?Can I pay by card?
Where is the toilet?Where is the toilet?

Etiquette, safety and scams

Etiquette

  • Greeting: Handshake at first meeting; 'hi' and first names quickly; avoid: Cheek kisses with strangers
  • Conversation: Weather is a safe opener; understatement and self-deprecating humour; avoid: Asking about salary or class
  • Queues: Join at the back; avoid: Pushing onto buses or trains before others get off
  • Apologies: 'Sorry' is said constantly, even when not at fault; avoid: Taking it as an admission of blame
  • Pubs: Buy rounds in a group; wait at the bar without waving money; avoid: Clicking fingers at staff
  • Nations: Call Scots Scottish and Welsh Welsh; avoid: Calling the whole UK 'England'

Scams and watch-outs

  • No railway: the Waverley line through Hawick closed in 1969 and only the northern section to Tweedbank was restored in 2015.
  • Mobile coverage is 4G in town but very patchy on the approach roads; 5G has not reached the area.
  • The Teviot flooded the town in October 2021; check conditions after heavy rain before walking riverside paths.
  • Hill and forest roads off the A7 and B6399 are single-track in places with passing places; drive to the conditions.
  • Book ahead for Common Riding week in June, when the town fills with riders and visitors.

Hawick is a small, low-crime town and safe to walk at night. The real risks are weather and terrain: hill paths are unmarked in places, mobile signal drops outside town, and rivers rise fast after rain.

One and two days

No timed day plan for Hawick yet. Suggested stay: 1 night. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.

  • Borders textile and cashmere heritage
  • Hawick Common Riding
  • Rugby union (Hawick RUFC)
  • Walking in the Teviot and Ettrick hills

Sources

Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.

Pocket card

Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.

Hawick

To this address, please

To this address, please

My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)

  • Police, fire, ambulance999
  • Police non-urgent101
  • NHS non-urgent (24 h)111

No embassies in Hawick; the nearest are in Edinburgh. US citizens: US Consulate General, Edinburgh (check the address).

English is spoken throughout; no local phrase needed.

Voykit · checked 2026-09

Printed from Voykit (/hawick). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.