Roxburghshire brings together a historic country estate, the River Tweed, country sports, Scottish food and whisky, market towns, and miles of open countryside. For YPO and EO forums, it offers a private rural setting with enough variety to build several very different days.
Scotland combines historic cities, mountains, islands, coast, whisky regions, and extensive countryside within a relatively compact country. The seasons give each area a different character, from long summer evenings and outdoor pursuits to autumn colour, fireside dinners, and winter stays. In the south, the Scottish Borders offer a quieter landscape of rivers, estates, historic towns, and rolling countryside within reach of Edinburgh and Newcastle.
Roxburghshire lies in the Scottish Borders around Kelso, where the Rivers Tweed and Teviot run through farmland, woodland, historic estates, and small market towns. This is country-sports Scotland rather than the Highlands, with fishing, shooting, golf, castles, cashmere, local producers, and estate life all close together. The result is a retreat that feels properly rural without being particularly difficult to reach.
Roxburghshire allows a forum to experience Scotland without building the retreat around a major city or spending hours moving between locations. A group can shoot clays in the morning, meet after lunch, fish or play golf in the afternoon, visit a cashmere producer, dine privately on the estate, and finish with whisky by the fire. The setting does much of the work.
Food here fits naturally into the estate experience. Scottish produce, game, local meat, seasonal ingredients, and produce from the SCHLOSS garden can move from relaxed Scottish cooking to tasting menus and private dining. Whisky tastings, fireside drinks, and dinners in different parts of the estate give us enough variety to make each evening feel different without constantly taking the group elsewhere.
Roxburghshire is particularly strong for country pursuits. Clay pigeon shooting, fishing, archery, championship golf, quad biking, 4x4 driving, mountain biking, horse riding, and other outdoor experiences can all form part of the retreat. Several can begin directly from the estate, while others take the group deeper into the Borders. What we use depends on the season, weather, and interests of the forum.
Evenings here are less about going out and more about using the setting well. Whisky or gin tastings, fireside drinks in the 1745 Bar, private dinners, local musicians, and Scottish entertainment can all be brought into the retreat. When the group wants something less structured, Kelso adds traditional pubs and a small market-town evening within easy reach of the estate.
The quieter side of Roxburghshire can move between the estate spa and heated outdoor pool, riverside walks, Kelso Abbey, Floors Castle, gardens, and historic houses across the Borders. The region's castles, abbeys, estates, and market towns provide plenty of context without turning the retreat into a sightseeing programme, while the countryside itself gives the group room to slow the pace between activities.
Cashmere and textiles give this destination a particularly strong enrichment angle. Nearby Hawick has a long manufacturing tradition, and a private visit to a working producer can take the group behind the finished product to see the materials, machinery, craftsmanship, and people involved. It opens up conversations around manufacturing, heritage, brand, succession, skills, and international markets through a business rooted in the Scottish Borders.
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