100 British Bus Routes: Route 67
Berwick-upon-Tweed to Galashiels
4 October 2025
ABOVE: Borders Buses 11310 (YA13 AEM), an Optare Versa, is loading up in Horsemarket, Kelso, for the return journey on route 67 to Berwick-upon-Tweed, from which it has just arrived. All photos in this article were taken on Monday 22 September 2025.
Runs: Daily (including early evening service Kelso & Galashiels)
Operator: Borders Buses
Weekday daytime frequency:
Buses run in two sections - Berwick & Kelso (every two hours) / Kelso & Galashiels (hourly)
Weekday Vehicle Requirement: Around four buses at any point (interworked with other services)
Off-peak journey time (weekdays): 59-63 minutes (Berwick & Kelso) / 61-63 minutes (Kelso & Galashiels)
Estimated route length: 47-50 miles
UPDATE: Since 20 October 2025, buses have run end-to-end and it is no longer necessary to change in Kelso. My journey was undertaken, and this article written, before that change was announced.
There are times, early into my journey on route 67, when I wonder if there is going to be anything for me to write about. As I look across yet more fields and open countryside, I wonder if I will discover any intermediate villages, or just continue with this uncluttered and natural landscape all the way to the terminus...
But I'm jumping ahead. I've arrived in Berwick-upon-Tweed, in late morning autumn sunshine, to ride Borders Buses route 67 to Galashiels. Borders Buses is an appropriate operator, for a service that will start in England, finish in Scotland, and run alongside the border for part of the way.
I have reached Berwick by train from Edinburgh, like you do if you're staying in Carlisle... (Or maybe not...) The current station, Grade-II listed, was built in 1927 by the original London & North Eastern Railway. This is the most northerly station in England, being less than three miles south of the Scottish border.
ABOVE: Berwick-upon-Tweed station
And it's here that the 67 starts its 50-odd mile journey south-westwards to Galashiels. Except that that's not quite true (that it will run 50 miles to Galashiels), as I will find out.
The town of Berwick-upon-Tweed is always bright and lively, and today is no exception. It might be 'off-peak' for shopping, being a Monday morning, but a pair of buskers are performing in the main street (Marygate) - one of whom is on trumpet and sounds really accomplished.
ABOVE: Marygate, Berwick-upon-Tweed, with the 18th Century Town & Guild Hall building taking centre stage.
Most buses depart from the adjacent Golden Square, where a lengthy bus shelter has been provided. My intended departure is the 1210 service (1205 from the station). A small group of four or five people are already assembled when I reach the stop 10 minutes before.
I have another chance to look down along the Royal Tweed Bridge, the main road bridge across the River Tweed, and one of three crossings (two road and one rail) here. I'll be crossing it shortly:
ABOVE: Looking across the Royal Tweed Bridge, from the eastern side (the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed).
The bridge was built between 1925 & 1928 (they were clearly very busy with construction in Berwick around that time) and was designed to supplement the older bridge, a short distance downstream. Now Grade-II* listed, the bridge held the record for the longest single concrete span in the UK at the time of its construction.
I photographed all three bridges on my previous visit in 2022. To be honest, the Royal Border Bridge, which carries the railway line, is probably the most spectacular of the three in (or should that be across) a river of spectacle.
The bus arrives on time. It's an Optare Versa, smart and clean, and labelled for Kelso, around halfway along the route. The fare of £7.55 is a bit of a shock, but is probably closer to the true economics of bus service provision, and demonstrates how well off we are in England with the £3.00 cap.
ABOVE: Borders Buses 11310 (YA13 AEM), an Optare Versa, turns into Golden Square, Berwick-upon-Tweed, working route 67.
We have started in England, and stay in England as we cross the River Tweed. From three miles west of Berwick, the Tweed broadly represents the border between England and Scotland, but, to the east of that, the border deviates a few miles to the north to keep Berwick-upon-Tweed on the English side. As is well documented, this hasn't always been the case, of course, with Berwick having moved between England and Scotland a number of times as the respective countries battled for territory. It's been part of England since 1482, though, so maybe things are settled now?
One of the first villages we come to, just two miles from Berwick-upon-Tweed, is East Ord. Here, incorporated into the wall alongside the Village Green, is "The Shell", a World War I practice shell from HMS Hood. HMS Hood was a Royal Navy battlecruiser, and the shell was donated to the village by Commander Phipps-Hornby of the tiny nearby hamlet of Murton.
Buses on route 67 follow variable routes through this area. The village of Horncliffe, built on a cliff above the banks of the River Tweed, is bypassed by my service, receiving just two buses per day each way from route 67 (it receives two more per day each way from route 266, Berwick to Wooler).
We are brushing the Scottish border again as we come to Norham (a couple of early morning buses away from Berwick, and one evening journey back, bypass the village centre). Norham is mentioned as the resting place of St Cuthbert, a seventh-century monk, bishop and hermit, associated with the monasteries of Melrose and Lindisfarne in the Kingdom of Northumbria.
Norham Castle was founded when Ranulf Flambard, Bishop of Durham from 1099 to 1128, gave orders for its construction in 1121, in order to protect the property of the bishopric in north Northumberland from incursions by the Scots. Wikipedia describes how the castle "saw much action" during the wars between England and Scotland. When reading that article, one wonders how it survived, albeit left to fall into ruin, to become a Grade-I listed building and an Ancient Scheduled Monument in the present day! The artist J.M. W. Turner (1775-1851) painted views of the castle on several occasions.
ABOVE: Norham Castle
Nearby Norham Village Hall was developed on the site of the village smithy and has been used as a hall since 1897:
ABOVE: Norham Village Hall
The areas between villages around here are incredibly isolated. There's no-one around and little to see. We reach the Salutation Inn, at the edge of Norham, which houses a Caravan Park. This seems to be one of only a very few man-made structures outside the village for miles (take a look at this aerial view to appreciate the isolation).
ABOVE: An isolated area near the Salutation Inn Caravan Park (out of sight to the left). We turn right here, but buses that skip the village of Norham will have come from the left.
ABOVE: More splendid isolation a few miles further along.
The small English village of Cornhill-on-Tweed is just a mile from the Scottish town of Coldstream, across the river. Whilst the border between England and Scotland generally runs down the middle of the River Tweed, there is a small pocket of land between the villages of Cornhill and Wark (which is two miles west-south-west of Cornhill) where Scotland comes south of the river, to enclose a small riverside meadow of approximately two-to-three acres. This piece of land is known as the Ba Green.
It is said locally that, every year, the men of Coldstream would challenge the men of Wark at ba (a version of football), and the winning side would claim the Ba Green for their country. As Coldstream grew to have a larger population than Wark, the men of Coldstream always defeated those of Wark at the game, and so the land became a permanent part of Scotland!
Route 67 finally crosses the river, and the border into Scotland, at Coldstream.
ABOVE: Coldstream Bridge, with England to the left and Scotland to the right.
Coldstream is the location where Edward I of England invaded Scotland in 1296. In 1650 General George Monck founded the Coldstream Guards regiment of the British Army and led it to London, helping to enable the Restoration of King Charles II to the throne.
The town sign on the approach proudly recognises its military role as "Home of the Regiment" and the "First True Border Toon". Many of the buildings in the High Street have images of soldiers attached to them:
The river runs parallel to the 67 for much of the way to Kelso, but the border now deviates to the south. Much of the nine-mile run to Kelso is again in open countryside.
The bus reaches the outskirts of Kelso on time, but a large lorry parked across a junction (where it is making a delivery) creates a delay as there just isn't room for everyone to get through. Cars try to do so and get stuck, causing the bus driver to have to make an awkward reverse manouevre across a mini-roundabout. The lorry moves out of the way to enable us to get into town, albeit three minutes late at 1307.
Kelso lies at the confluence of the rivers Tweed and Teviot. The town came into being following the founding of Kelso Abbey in the 12th century. It also held the UK record for the lowest January temperature from 1881 until 1982; an on-the-cool-side temperature of -26.7° Celsius. (I wouldn't like to have been wherever that temperature record was broken!)
The Square is attractive in the afternoon sun:
My bus has terminated here, although we are only half-way along the route. There is a 13-minute wait (now 10 following our delay) before continuing the journey, and I am expecting the same vehicle to continue to Galashiels, as is often the case with long bus routes (and perhaps with a change of driver). But the display on the front did not say "Kelso for Galashiels", it very distinctly just said "Kelso". Passengers are already boarding and I am waiting for the display (still on "Kelso") to be changed.
There is no driver change, but it's not my bus - this vehicle is going back to Berwick-upon-Tweed. A bit unexpected, but it turns out that every journey on the 67 breaks at Kelso.
To be fair, this is shown on the online timetable on the Borders Buses website, although the PDF version implies a through journey:
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Online (left) and PDF (right) versions of the 67 timetable on the Borders Buses website
While I'm waiting, I wander around from the bus stop that I have been dropped off at (which I have assumed to be the "Woodmarket" stop that is stated in both online timetable versions) to the neighbouring street - where I find my 67 to Galashiels waiting! It turns out that I have been dropped off on Horsemarket, which runs parallel to Woodmarket.
It appears that all buses to / from Berwick use Horsemarket, and all buses to / from Galashiels use Woodmarket. It's sloppy presentation in both timetable versions to not make clear that one needs to move between the two stops to continue the journey - especially as the stops are not visible from one another.
After this lucky escape (I could have waited on Horsemarket and missed my connection), I board this fresh Optare Versa, part with another £6.40, and head off on time at 1317. This is a busy service, and will be so for the entire journey.
ABOVE: Borders Buses 11311 (YA13 AEN), an Optare Versa, in Woodmarket, Kelso, prior to the departure of the 1317 service to Galashiels
As we edge out of Kelso, I notice a large walled-off area which seems to be quite extensive. I'm assuming a private manor house or even the aforementioned Kelso Abbey, but it seems to be nothing more than a Showground.
ABOVE: What's behind the myserious wall?
We cross the Tweed again at Mertoun Bridge, where something (maybe fishing - the area is known for salmon and brown trout?) is underway, judging from the person in the middle of the river...
This brings us to St Boswells, where a "bus stance" has been set up such that buses towards Kelso cross the path of those heading towards Galashiels.
ABOVE: Another Borders Buses Optare Versa, working the western section of route 67 from Galashiels, pulls into St Boswells Bus Stance
The territory seems to be changing now - a bit more built-up, and more to see between the various villages. And the villages are becoming towns. In the town of Melrose, some bus stops have been updated with real-time information displays, using what looks like solar power:
There is still countryside to enjoy...
We reach the Borders General Hospital, adjacent to Darnick. Lots of cars are parked up but the largely rural catchment area is likely to be a factor here.
ABOVE: Borders General Hospital
Skirmish Hill, by Darnick, was the site of the Battle of Darnick, alos known as the Battle of Melrose, which took place on 25 July 1526 between the Scotts of Buccleuch and the Kerrs of Ferniehirst, trying to intercept King James V of Scotland who was then under the guardianship of Archibald Douglas, sixth Earl of Angus. King James was attempting to free himself from the control of Angus by any means necessary, Darnick being the first of two battles fought in 1526 for this aim. The King himself likely witnessed the battle from nearby Darnick Tower.
Those involved were all Border families, and there was an element of family politics involved in the battle. There are very few details about the armies, but both sides were effectively drawn from the same population.
We call into Tweedbank station, the terminus of the Borders Railway from Edinburgh, which was reopened in 2015.
We reach Witch Corner. Witch Hill served as the site of an execution for those accused of witchcraft during the 16th and 17th centuries.
The bus arrives at 1420 - on time - into the smart Galashiels Interchange:
ABOVE: Borders Buses 11311 (YA13 AEN, left) again, alongside the same operator's 11903 (SK19 ELX, right), an ADL Enviro400 MMC. The MMC is preparing for a journey to Edinburgh on route X62, which will take just over two hours and is now on my to-do list.
Galashiels has developed below a range of picturesque hills. The town is a major commercial centre for the Borders region with extensive history in the textile industry. It houses the Heriot-Watt University's School of Textiles and Design.
There's a statue in Galashiels to recognise Robert Coltart (1833-1880). a confectioner who wrote "Coulter's Candy", a popular lullaby for generations of young families:
Ally bally, ally bally bee,
Sittin’ on yer mammy’s knee,
Greetin’ for anither bawbee,
Tae buy mair Coulter’s candy
Coulter's Candy by Robert Coltart
Coltart (the ‘coulter’ of the song), who lived in Galashiels, was well known for selling his boiled sweets throughout his home town, and at fairs and festivals across the Borders. Dressed in colourful, extravagant clothes, wearing a ‘big lum hat’ and playing a penny whistle, he tied bright ribbons to his sweet tray and sang his much-loved song to attract customers and advertise his wares. A boy (Little Jock) and girl (Wee Jeannie) are referenced in the song, and included in the commemoration:
And that's route 67 - a lovely drive through the English and Scottish borders, and there was plenty to talk about after all. But, with every journey being split in the middle, I wonder why one half isn't given a separate route number...?