At the east end of one of Gala's main shopping streets, Channel Street, stands Market Square. This part of the town has been put to various uses over the years including a spell as a bus station from the 1920s to the 1960s. In 1821, ground in the centre of Market Square was gifted by the Scott family for the building of a subscription school where pupils paid for classes which they attended. The venture was not a success and the building was demolished in 1862. Proposals to build on the Square were opposed and the feu passed to the Burgh Council on condition that the Square was landscaped and not built upon. The Square was accordingly laid out in granite setts in the early 1920s. It was landscaped properly for the first time in 1968 and again in 1994. The statue entitled "Man with Sheep" at the edge of the Square was sculpted by local artist Ann Henderson in 1971 and originally stood in the centre of the Square. When the area was landscaped in 1994, it was decided to move the sculpture to look directly down Channel Street. From here continue along Market Street.

On your right is the Pavilion Cinema, now extensively renovated, where there are four screens on which can be seen many of the latest films. Next to the cinema is the Railway Inn. Prior to the closure of the Waverley Route in 1969, this hotel catered for railway travellers who wished to break their journey in Galashiels. Through the gates on the right are government buildings. These occupy the site of the Victoria Mill which burned down in 1905. The building which replaced the mill was the original Scottish College of Textiles. Notice the portico with the figure of 'Industria' above the pediment. Return through the gates and turn right.

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