Peebles has many options for drinking and dining, and some of the most appealing are in the hotels on the town's edge, even though they may seem rather staid at first glance. On Innerleithen Road, the Park Hotel (tel. 01721/720-451) and the nearby Hotel Hydro (tel. 01721/720-602) contain pubs and cocktail lounges.
For an earthier atmosphere, we highly recommend dropping into the town's oldest pub, at The Cross Keys Hotel, 24 Northgate (tel. 01721/724-222), where you'll find 300-year-old smoke-stained panels, a blazing fireplace, and an evocatively crooked bar. Ask the bartender about the resident ghost. Like the Loch Ness monster, she's taken on an almost mythical identity since her last sighting, but the rumor goes that she's the spirit of Sir Walter Scott's former landlady, Marian Ritchie. No one will be shy about telling you his or her theory, especially if you're buying.
