Room to relax - the Borders

When Sir Walter Scott took his daily carriage ride to Dryburgh, he would often stop off to visit his old friend, the philosopher, astronomer and inventor of the kaleidoscope, Sir David Brewster, at Allerly, his home in Gattonside.

Fauhope Country House, which nestles among the trees just behind Allerly, wasn't built until 65 years after Scott's death in 1832, but the revered novelist would undoubtedly have felt at home there among the art and the books and the gracious company.

From the drawing room window he would have looked out upon a vista of the Tweed and the Eildon Hills which matches the famous view that now bears his name, and through a discreet gap in the trees he would have caught the merest glimpse of Melrose Abbey, setting for one of the most famous scenes from his Lay of the Last Minstrel. The view is just one of the things that make Fauhope Country House the crème de la crème of Scotland's bed and breakfast establishments.

The other reason is Sheila Robson, Fauhope's landlady, who recently collected the AA accolade of Guest Accommodation of the Year in Scotland for 2008-2009 at a lavish ceremony in London. Robson's twinkling smile and dedication to her guests' welfare are what keep people coming back for more. And her breakfasts, which make lunch an unnecessary intrusion in the day.

What makes Fauhope special?

Take the most comfortable bed in the world, place it in a truly beautiful house and insert it into one of the most tranquil landscapes in Britain and you have your answer. Peace. To wake up in the Turret Room is to experience a serenity that can be replicated in few other places on earth; outside, the only sound is the rustle of the trees and the gentle chatter of birds; within, the very walls seem to radiate calm.

Fauhope was built in 1897 to a design by Sidney Mitchell – who was also responsible for the celebrated Ramsay Gardens in Edinburgh – for the Glasgow shipping millionaire William Lithgow. With its red tiled roof and creamy white walls, it could be mistaken for a sumptuous Roman villa. It sits amid mature trees on the gentle south-facing slope above the village of Gattonside, where the monks of 12th-century Melrose Abbey planted orchards.

The monks chose their ground well, for it is particularly fertile, as the beautiful gardens that surround the house prove. Thick bushes provide a haven for the chaffinches, dunnock and sparrows that squabble for seeds among the buddleia, lavender, roses and poppies. This is a serious garden, looked after with serious care, but the wrought iron kiwis browsing the manicured grass, alongside a pair of ostriches and an imperious owl, are evidence of the gardener's sense of humour.

Humour is part of the Fauhope charm. Robson takes the care and comfort of her guests very seriously, but everything else is an excuse for laughter. She has the easy charm of a hostess with 30 years' experience of looking after customers. She and her husband, Ian, owned and ran Marmion's brasserie in nearby Melrose for 21 years, making it a byword for excellence.

She sums up their philosophy in one succinct sentence: "We try to leave people with a good feeling about Scotland and about the Borders."

Style is another word that epitomises Fauhope. Every room and corridor has its own distinctive character. Unusual combinations abound. A vast seascape dominates the stairway, nudging shoulders with a life-size statue of a Kalahari bushman carved from a single block of ironwood. In the elegant drawing room, a modernist nude has pride of place, but the eye is drawn to a nearby painting of three young men, the Robsons' sons, Charles, Laing and Philip.

In the Turret Room, a Renaissance painting hangs over the bath while, over the washbasin, there's a watercolour of a wet day in Melrose, painted by a local artist. It shouldn't work, but it does. Perfectly.

Books, too, are everywhere; on art, on philosophy and, inevitably, on history, for the Borders fairly oozes history. Sir Walter Scott figures large and his magnificent house at Abbotsford a few miles up the Tweed is one of the destinations of choice for visitors to Fauhope, along with the four Border abbeys, and Mellerstain, one of Robert Adam's finest creations.

It was no coincidence that Scott built his home – demolishing a farm with the charming name of Clarty Hole to make way for it – by the side of the river. The author was a keen fisherman and many people who come here follow his example. One of the finest beats on the Tweed is Middle Pavilion, just upstream from Gattonside. It's a beautiful stretch of river with an excellent year-round catch record, and at 1:03pm on Thursday 17 July, 2008, with my last cast of the day and after years of trying, I hooked and landed my first salmon there. She was a seven-and-a-half-pound beauty in her full spawning livery and, after giving me a fight I'll never forget, she was carefully returned to make her way to the spawning grounds in the river's headwaters. Life really doesn't get much better.

After a day in the fresh Borders air, you will undoubtedly have worked up an appetite. Fauhope is a bed and breakfast establishment, so you must seek sustenance elsewhere. There are a number of good restaurants in Gattonside itself and a 15-minute walk away across the footbridge in Melrose, but the first place you will turn is the aforesaid Marmion's, near the abbey.

Marmion's is now run by Chris Kurt, originally from Turkey, and his wife Nicola. They met four years ago when Nicola, who hails from Melrose, was on holiday in Chris's home country and, after a courtship that ran up countless air miles, they decided to settle in the Borders. "We've built a house here and now have two children. This is a wonderful place and the people are very welcoming," he says.

But surely the Robsons must have been a hard act to follow?

"Of course, but our chef James Anderson, who was second chef under Sheila and Ian, has really stepped up to the challenge. When he said he was keen on the job, I said I'd give him a month to prove himself. He told me he only needed two weeks. That was over a year ago and now he's made the post his own."

Marmion's has a wonderfully diverse menu and a compact but excellent wine list. The seared breast of pigeon was the most succulent I've ever tasted and was followed by venison steaks that melted in the mouth and were perfectly complemented by sautéed wild mushrooms. We also had an adventurous beetroot and thyme risotto and Cumberland sausage with spring cabbage that was a major, but worthwhile, challenge.

And so back to Fauhope and, after a night's sleep, to the equally worthwhile challenge of Robson's breakfast.

"Cooked breakfast?"

"Yes, but ..."

" ... no tattie scone or beans today."

Was she psychic? "How did you know that?"

"Attention to detail, darling."

Which says it all, really.

Factfile: Melrose

How to get there

• From Edinburgh, take the A68 south, towards Jedburgh. Three miles past Earlston, turn left, then right for Gattonside. In Gattonside take the first right, then right again past a small sign for Fauhope Country House and continue up the drive.

Where to stay

• Fauhope Country House, Gattonside, Melrose (tel: [phone], [e-mail]); AA five diamonds/AA Guest Accommodation of the Year 2008-9 Scotland. Rooms from £80 to £110 a night.

And there's more

• Marmion's Brasserie, 5 Buccleuch Street, Melrose (tel: [phone]).

• Prices for fishing the Middle Pavilion beat of the Tweed start at £60 per day plus VAT in low season.

• Visit nearby Abbotsford House (www.scottabbotsford.co.uk).

• Scotsman Reader Holidays has a four-day Christmas break in the Scottish Borders from £425. Visit www.holidays.scotsman.com