Duke of Buccleuch’s hunt invited back to Selkirk

The Duke of Buccleuch’s News Year’s Day meet in Selkirk Market Square could be re-instated after a 12 year break. Selkirk Community Council stopped inviting the hunt to the town on New Year’s Day in the late seventies.

“There must have been a change of council and no one sent an invitation so the hunt stopped coming,” said Kenneth Gunn, chairman of the community council. But last week community councillors voted 7-2 to invite the hunt back to the Market Place on 1 January.

Local butcher Gordon Newlands who proposed the idea, which was supported by Kenneth Gunn.

“I always remember as a boy the hunt was a fantastic sight,” said Mr Newlands. “There is nothing more traditional than the Duke of Buccleuch’s meeting in Selkirk Market Square on New Year’s Day – 200 people used to watch, it was a wonderful spectacle.”

Trevor Adams, huntsman of the Duke of Buccleuch’s said: “Town councils are trying to encourage traditional activities. The Buccleuch hounds always used to meet in Kelso, Hawick and Selkirk on New Year’s Day on a rotational basis.

“We’re keen to take up Selkirk’s invitation because it is near the Duke’s Bowhill Estate.”

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now