If you like fresh air, fine food and playing conkers (and who doesn’t?) then the Borders are the only place to be this weekend.
The umbrella event is the Tweed Valley Forest Festival which aims to celebrate the area’s trees, people and Halloween traditions with events taking place from this Saturday to next Sunday.
The highlight may well be the Fifth Scottish Conker Championships which will be held tomorrow in the Marquee on Tweed Green, Peebles at noon. Last year, some 92 competitors risked their prize conkers in the hope of being crowned Scottish Champ.
From today, the Peebles Food Festival gets underway with three days of wine tastings, chef demos from people such as Tony Borthwick of The Plumed Horse; a Farmers’ Market and a junior version of Ready, Steady, Cook.
Perhaps the strangest event taking place is the International Chutney Festival held at Neidpath Castle this weekend. Operating under the slogan ‘One World, One Chutney’ it promises foodie cinema, live music, a hog roast; beer from the Black Isle Brewery, book readings and, obviously, lots of chutney.