Holiday rentals and lettings in Peebles

Table of Contents

• At a glance: What should you know about renting a holiday rental or letting in Peebles?
• Holiday rentals and lettings in Peebles: find your perfect retreat
• Exploring Peebles: our top recommendations
• Activities: What are the top things to do and see in Peebles?

• Stone cottages and town flats: Most lettings are traditional stone cottages, town-centre flats and riverside studios, many with a garden, parking, a woodburner or a secure bike store.
• Riverside or High Street: Stay beside the River Tweed for views and walks, or on the High Street for shops, delis and cafes within a few minutes on foot.
• Guests rate the welcome: Our top-rated Peebles lettings score 9.9+ and above, with reviewers praising the tidy interiors, easy parking and river views.
• Late spring to early autumn: May to September brings the longest days, the Beltane Festival in June and the driest trails; winter is quiet and cheaper.
• Castle, gardens and trails: Neidpath Castle, Kailzie Gardens, Traquair House, the Tweeddale Museum and the graded mountain-bike trails at Glentress fill an easy week.

Peebles offers a mix of characterful stone cottages, cosy town flats and riverside studios, with a handful of larger houses sleeping up to ten for family gatherings. Similar stock runs right across the Scottish Borders, and if you want more of the same you will find plenty of cottages in the Scottish Borders and log cabins in the Scottish Borders within a short drive of the town. Amenities here are practical rather than showy.

• A private garden or courtyard for long summer evenings
• Off-street parking, useful for reaching Glentress and Traquair
• A woodburner or open fire for autumn and winter stays
• A secure bike store or lockable shed for muddy wheels
• Fully fitted kitchens and reliable Wi-Fi for self-catering weeks

Pet-friendly lettings are common, so the dog rarely has to stay behind.

What are the best areas to stay in Peebles?

For a first visit, base yourself around the High Street, where almost everything is walkable. The table below details areas for specific interests:

What do our guests say?

Guests consistently mention how easy Peebles is to settle into: a short walk to a bakery, a river at the end of the street and hosts who leave local walking notes on the table. Reviews for the town's lettings cluster at 9.8+ and above, with cleanliness, parking and the quality of the beds mentioned most often. Several reviewers note that quiet is part of the appeal here.

Here are our top-rated holiday lettings from the past year:

1. Stylish George Street Apartment - 9.9+: A four-person flat with a garden and parking, moments from the High Street shops and cafes in central Peebles.
2. 63 Rosetta Road, family friendly, with a garden in Peebles - 9.9+: A family-friendly cottage for four with an enclosed garden, on a quiet residential road on the Rosetta side of town.
3. Comfortable town pad with a river view - 9.9+: A waterfront apartment for two with a yard, parking and River Tweed views, welcoming pets and reviewed nearly a hundred times.

Peebles is a royal burgh on the River Tweed in the Scottish Borders, roughly 23 miles south of Edinburgh and surrounded by hills and forest.

✈️What is the best way to get to Peebles?

There is no railway station in Peebles, so most visitors arrive by car or by bus. Here are the most common ways to get to the town:

• Car: From Edinburgh the A703 runs south through Penicuik and reaches Peebles in about 50 minutes; from the south, leave the A7 at Galashiels and follow the A72 along the Tweed valley. Car hire is available at Edinburgh Airport and in the city centre, and a car is genuinely useful for reaching Traquair House, Dawyck and the trail centres. Most lettings offer off-street parking, and there are public car parks off the High Street.
• Bus: The Borders Buses X62 links Edinburgh with Peebles, Innerleithen, Galashiels and Melrose roughly every hour, taking around 75 minutes from Edinburgh city centre. From Edinburgh Airport, take the tram or airport bus into the centre first and change there. Within Peebles almost everything is walkable, and local services reach the surrounding villages if you would rather not drive at all.

🥗Where to eat in Peebles?

According to Google Maps data and reviews, Milne & Pickles is the best rated restaurant in Peebles. Below is a table showing the top 5 highly-rated restaurants hand-picked by our travel experts.

⭐Our guests' recommendation: Our guest traveller Emma Wilson recommends the Coltman's Kitchen, Deli & Bar in Peebles: a High Street deli and bar where you can pick up cheese and bread for a riverside picnic, then come back for supper.

☀️When is the best time to visit?

For long days and dry paths, come between May and September, when the Tweed valley is at its greenest and the Beltane Festival fills the High Street in late June. Autumn brings colour to Glentress and Dawyck, while winter is quiet, cheap and best suited to fireside stays and short daylight walks.

Spring

• Best for: Gardeners and walkers, with Kailzie Gardens and Dawyck coming into bloom.
• Weather: Cool and changeable, typically 8-15°C with bright spells and passing showers.
• Atmosphere: Calm and uncrowded, with trails drying out and cafes easy to get into.

Summer

• Best for: Families, festival-goers and anyone wanting the longest possible days outdoors.
• Weather: Mild rather than hot, usually 15-21°C, with daylight lasting well past nine.
• Atmosphere: Liveliest of the year, especially during Beltane week in late June.

Autumn

• Best for: Photographers, cyclists and couples after a quiet break with a fire.
• Weather: Crisp and often wet, around 7-14°C, with early mist over the Tweed.
• Atmosphere: Peaceful and golden, with woodland colour at Glentress and Dawyck.

⭐Our Hosts' recommendation: Our Peebles local expert, Fiona, of Comfortable town pad with a river view recommends coming to visit the riverside path that runs west from Tweed Green to Neidpath Castle. It takes about forty minutes each way, passes under the old railway viaduct and is level enough for most walkers. Go early and you will often have the herons and the water to yourself before the town wakes up. You can read more about local tips on Fiona's page.

1. Walk to Neidpath Castle
2. Ride the Glentress trails
3. Wander Kailzie Gardens
4. Step inside Traquair House
5. Follow the Peebles Town Walk

1. Walk to Neidpath Castle

   Follow the River Tweed west from Tweed Green and in about forty minutes you reach Neidpath Castle, an L-plan tower house perched above a bend in the river. The riverside path is level and well used, passing beneath a disused railway viaduct with fine views back towards the town. Opening times for the castle interior vary by season and it is often booked for weddings, so check before you set out. Even when closed, the grounds and the walk make an easy half-day.

2. Ride the Glentress trails

   Just east of town, Glentress Forest anchors the Tweed Valley's mountain-biking scene, with a trail centre, bike hire, showers and a cafe. The routes are graded like ski runs: the green and blue loops suit families and returning riders, while the red and black routes involve steep, rocky and exposed sections meant for experienced riders with the right bike and skills. Check the grade before you set off, and consider a guided session or a skills loop first if you are new to it.

3. Wander Kailzie Gardens

   Two and a half miles east of Peebles, Kailzie Gardens spread around a 19th-century walled garden with herbaceous borders, a burnside walk, woodland paths and a duck pond. It is an unhurried hour or two, with a cafe for tea and cake and plenty of space for children to roam. Spring bulbs and early summer roses are the highlights, and the wider estate walks stay pleasant into autumn. Combine it with a drive on along the valley towards Traquair.

4. Step inside Traquair House

   About seven miles east near Innerleithen, Traquair House claims to be the oldest continuously inhabited house in Scotland, with roots going back more than a thousand years. Inside there are priest's hidden rooms, a working brewery and family collections; outside, a maze, woodland walks and craft workshops. The famous Bear Gates have stayed shut since 1745. It is the single best rainy-day option within a short drive of Peebles, so keep it in reserve.

5. Follow the Peebles Town Walk

   Pick up the free Town Walk leaflet in town and spend a couple of hours tracing the burgh's history on foot. The route takes in the High Street, the medieval Cross Kirk ruins, the parish church and the Tweeddale Museum & Gallery, where entry is free and the plaster casts of the Parthenon frieze are a genuine surprise. It works well on a first morning, and it ends conveniently close to the town's delis and cafes for lunch.

Fancy pairing Peebles with somewhere else in the Borders? Moffat, Berwick-upon-Tweed and Edinburgh all make straightforward additions to a Tweed valley week.