Enter the Park and note the ornate cast iron gates and railings. On the left is the lodge house which was built in 1881 as the entrance lodge for New Gala House. This is quite grand with its crowstep gables, tall chimneys and entrance porch. Bear right along the drive which is also part of the Southern Upland Way. The park is named after the Scott family who gifted the land to the town in 1939. New Gala House was built in 1872 for the Scott family as a replacement for Old Gala House. It is ironic that Old Gala House has outlasted its newer namesake, which was demolished in 1985. The ground around the site is well wooded and within minutes, you feel as if you are in the countryside, even although the town is just a short distance away. Today, the Gala Policies have become a popular walk with locals for this very reason and there is a rich variety of wildlife in the Policies.

Every weekday during the school year, pupils of Galashiels Academy walk through the park to go to school. The Academy was founded as a private school in 1861 in Bridge Place, although this was not the first school (a parish school was opened in Galashiels in 1696). During 1870 it moved to Croft Street and even though this was later extended, it still proved to be inadequate. In 1910 the Academy moved to Oaklea, a house on Melrose Road which was converted into a school building. The number of pupils continued to grow and, in 1964 the Academy relocated to its present site. The Melrose Road site was then taken over by Borders College.

Exit the park through the gates into Livingstone Place, noticing the local swimming pool on the left which opened in 1984 and, should you have time, you can enjoy a relaxing swim there. The laminated timber structure of the building and the pool having two shallow ends, with a deeper centre, make the design worthy of note. At the end of Livingstone Place, turn right again into Scott Street and continue past the park gates to Scott Crescent. Notice, behind the high wall on your left, Gala Bowling Club with the pavilion overlooking the green.

Next: Old Gala House