The Mansfield House Hotel looks out over the town of Hawick from high ground to the south of the River Teviot.

It sits in ten acres of its own gardens close to Mansfield Park rugby ground on the outskirts of this the largest of the Border towns.

Hawick is world famous for its knitwear particularly cashmere and is well known to rugby enthusiasts.

Its annual Common Riding is ranked as one of the worlds best parties alongside The Rio Mardi Gras in Rough Guides World Party book because it combines the thrills of Pamplonas Fiesta de San Fermin with the concentrated drinking of Munichs Oktoberfest.The house was originally called Thornwood and was the private home of the Oliver family built in 1870.

These entrepreneurs of the new industrial age tastefully influenced the many distinctive architectural features from the thistle and rose ceilings of the reception rooms to the Russian pine shutters and doors throughout the ground floor.

The attention to detail in the design and finish i