10 Aug 2011
Wedding accommodation in the Scottish Borders doesn’t come more romantic than a lovely Romany roulotte! Whether you’re getting married in the Scottish Borders area, or just looking for a really different holiday, Roulotte Retreat’s lovely caravans make a perfect base, and are ideal for wedding guests staying at our Get Knotted wedding venues – including the nearby Buccleuch Arms. They also make a magical space for a honeymoon first night!
I was new to roulottes, which turns out to be the French word for Romany-style caravans. Avril Berry and Alan Fraser fell in love with these artisan-built handcarved wooden palaces on wheels and just knew they would be perfect in their meadow retreat three miles from Melrose, below the Eildon Hills. ‘We wanted magic with elegance, luxury with simplicity, all mod cons with a genuine sense of timelessless’, Avril says. There are currently 5 roulottes with evocative names like Devanna, Karlotta, Gitana, Maharani and Rosa Bella, as well as nearby Horseshoe Cottage, which also welcomes children.
The roulottes were brought across from France, and are set around a small wildlife loch. Each one has its own exquisitely designed interior and quirky, individual character, with sumptuous colours and textures, chic crockery and comfy facilities. You can also order special treats such as gourmet hampers, champagne and chocolates, or activities such as mountain-biking, horse-riding or Yoga for your wedding party.
With professional backgrounds in Yoga and Psychotherapy, Avril and Alan are committed to an environmentally friendly approach, and have planted lots of native trees, shrubs, hedging and wildflower meadow to encourage local wildlife. The site has solar lighting, recycling facilities, eco-friendly paints wherever possible, and the roulottes are heated using green energy logs made from compressed rapeseed. The roulottes are made by specialist artisans in France and transported by a Borders haulage company on the return journey from the continent. And you won’t find any glossy brochures – all the information you need is on their website.
Roulotte Retreat won a Tourism Innovation Award at last year’s Scottish Tourism Conference in Edinburgh – great to see a company that prioritises ethical and environmental values do so well! See below for more pix, or visit their site here.
Lindsey Hunter of Get Knotted is a wedding planner for Scotland and the north of England. She’s the in-house wedding planner for four lovely Scottish wedding venues: Mellerstain House, Aikwood Tower, Hoscote Estate, and the Buccleuch Arms Hotel. For more wedding inspiration, visit our gallery.
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