No chimney sweep listed in Stow yet.

A chimney sweep cleans flues and chimneys to remove soot, tar and blockages - essential for anyone with an open fire, wood burner or multi-fuel stove.

An annual sweep is recommended for any chimney in regular use and many home insurance policies require it.

Look for a sweep registered with the Guild of Master Chimney Sweeps or HETAS and keep the certificate they issue - your insurer may ask for it.

Stow is a village in the Gala Water valley on the A7, about seven miles north of Galashiels.

The Borders Railway has a station here, making Stow one of the most accessible villages in the northern Borders - Edinburgh Waverley is about 40 minutes by train.

The village has a medieval packhorse bridge, a 14th-century church and a setting in a wooded valley that gives it a quiet, rural character.

Stow has seen growing interest from commuters since the railway reopened, with its combination of train access and countryside setting proving attractive.

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The Scottish Borders is the largest council area in southern Scotland, stretching from the edge of Edinburgh and East Lothian in the north to the English border in the south.

It is a landscape of rolling hills, river valleys and market towns - the Tweed, Teviot, Ettrick and Yarrow rivers carve through countryside that has been fought over, farmed and written about for centuries.

Hawick and Galashiels are the largest towns, but the region's character is shaped by a string of smaller burghs - Kelso, Jedburgh, Peebles, Melrose and Selkirk - each with its own abbey ruins, common riding traditions, or rugby loyalties.

The Borders Railway, reopened in 2015, connects Tweedbank and Galashiels to Edinburgh Waverley, bringing the northern Borders within commuting distance of the capital for the first time in decades.

The region is known for its textile heritage, its abbeys and an outdoor culture built around hill walking, fishing, mountain biking and rugby - a place where community identity runs deep and the landscape is never far away.