Innerleithen in the running for prize

Judges have pared the shortlist down to eight, and Innerleithen is the only one from the Borders to make it to this stage.

Scotland’s Most Beautiful High Street is run by Scotland’s Towns Partnership and Keep Scotland Beautiful.

The bustling Tweed Valley town is up against Ayr, Kirkwall, Lerwick, Linlithgow, Lanark, Milngavie and Rothesay.

The public will have until Sunday, November 10 to cast their vote online, with the winner to be announced on Monday, November 18 – the beginning of Scotland’s Towns Week.

Entries were judged on factors including horticultural achievement, environmental responsibility, and community participation.

The 2018 winner was the Aberdeenshire town of Turriff, and the town has attracted great interest since then.

Phil Prentice, chief officer of Scotland’s Towns Partnership, said: “This competition is about celebrating the incredible work of people up and down the country, who give up their time to improve their local places. We’ve been blown away by the strength of the entries this year which goes to show that town centre revival is on the up, and it’s driven by local people.”

Votes can be cast at www.scotlandstowns.org/scotlands_most_beautiful_high_street.

Marshall Douglas, chairman of Innerleithen community Council, pleaded for your votes.

He said: “This is a great accolade for the town in recognition of the tremendous work undertaken by local businesses and community groups to make the street a diverse and vibrant place at the very heart of the community.

“The wide range of distinctive shops and beautiful floral displays helps create a highly individual look to the Street , set against the backdrop of the surrounding hills of the Tweed Valley. We encourage everyone to support our entry and to vote online to assist in our bid to be recognised as Scotland’s Most Beautiful High Street.