- Crook Inn
-
The Crook Inn, 2006
The Crook Inn is an inn in the Scottish Borders, near the village of Tweedsmuir on the A701 road between Broughton and Moffat. It is one of many claimants to be the oldest inn in Scotland. Robert Burns wrote "Willie Wastle's Wife" there. In the early 20th century a halt was built on the Talla Railway to serve it. The inn attracted much passing trade from the labourers who were building the Talla Reservoir, which the railway was built to serve.
The hotel was refurbished in 1936 in the then-current Art Deco style, and retains many of the features installed at that time. It has also, over the years, become a place of pilgrimage for members of the Porteous family, visiting the site of nearby Hawkshaw, their former ancestral home on the hills above Tweeddale and the Fruid Water reservoir. A reunion of Porteous family members was traditionally held at the inn every five years, attracting visitors from all over the world. In September 2010 it is planned that the celebrations will be held nearby, as the inn is temporarily unavailable.
The proposals to convert the historic inn into apartments met with much local opposition[1] and the plans were rejected by the councillors of Tweeddale West in March 2008. Following refusal the present owner lodged an appeal with the Department for Planning and Environmental Appeals (DPEA), a department of the Scottish Government.
On 2 February 2009, following an appeal hearing on 18 November 2008, a decision notice was issued by the DPEA which finally dismissed the appeal. This means that planning permission has not been granted for the change of use of the historic Crook Inn to flatted accommodation. This gives scope for the inn to reopen once again.
See also
References
- ^ Fairburn, Robert. News story in Peeblesshire News (November 26, 2006).
External links
Categories:- Hotels in Scotland
- Visitor attractions in the Scottish Borders
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
