MOUNTAIN BIKING SAVED MY TOWN

Two images pop into my head when I think of Innerleithen. The first is of a town down on its luck, unwelcoming in aspect, and empty of shops bar a bookie or two. Quiet, empty and forgettable. That was 2005 and my first visit. The second came just last year, and despite the rain the welcome couldn’t have been sunnier.

The streets were busy with people, and not just passing through, either: queuing for artisan coffee, licking 99s, and riding bikes. In the dozen years between my two visits the town had gone from down-and-out to mountain bike heaven.

They’re not just my first impressions either, everyone I speak to uses the same word to describe the town: buzzing. Last year it was runner-up in Scotland’s Most Beautiful High Street, and Zoopla reveals house prices are up 25 per cent in that period, four per cent in the last 12 months alone, as people move back to the town.

“Fast-forward to 2020 and the change is palpable,”