OWNERS of a Borders hotel are hoping to stage a train passenger comeback - after more than 120 years.

During the late 1800s the County Hotel in Selkirk had its own coaching business.

The town centre hostelry organised horse and coach trips for many years taking passengers to and from Selkirk station. 'The Flower of Yarrow’ was the name of the coach and its original wheels still hang in the Brasserie of the hotel today. Current co-owner of the County, Will Haegeland, has now teamed up with Borders Journeys to re-establish the service when trains arrive at Tweedbank in September.

Will told the Border Telegraph: “We are looking forward to the opening of the Borders Railway immensely, as well as offering local people a convenient method of transport to and from the capital. We fully appreciate the business and tourism potential that it will bring into the Borders.

“This really opens up the area to a host of new opportunities and new visitors from Edinburgh and we aim to make it as easy as possible for them to enjoy a truly first class experience of the area. We might be using horsepower of a different kind in 2015 but our visitors will enjoy a tour that does the memory of ’The Flower of Yarrow’ justice.” The new service will include collecting passengers from the railway station at Tweedbank and taking them on a pre-arranged tour of the Borders.

The tours will showcase the beauty, history and culture of the area along with the hospitality for which the Borders is famous. The County Hotel’s owners along with Ian Walker, owner of Borders Journeys, are designing a range of themed all-inclusive packages to be launched for the arrival of the first trains in September. As a tribute to the 'Flower of Yarrow’ coaching service, there will be a tour of the beautiful Ettrick and Yarrow valleys. There will also be visits to Scott’s Country along with tours featuring historic houses and gardens. And at the end of each day visitors will be taken to the County for dinner and an overnight stay before being transported back to the station the next morning. Ian Walker from Border Journeys said: “We were absolutely delighted when Will and Trond approached us to work together to develop a series of sightseeing tours of the Borders aimed specifically at visitors from Edinburgh using the new Borders Railway.

“As well as paying a fitting tribute to the history of the County as a coaching inn, we are excited to welcome the arrival of the new railway with tours that will showcase the very best of the Borders. The Borders Railway opens up an exciting chapter for the tourism industry and Borders Journeys are proud to be fully on board”.