Border Tweed Valley

A new group aimed at boosting tourism in the Tweed Valley on the back of the mountain biking industry has been formed.

The Tweed Valley Mountain Biking Stakeholder Group - made up of representatives from a wide range of organisations including Scottish Borders Council, Scottish Enterprise and Forestry Commission Scotland - held its first meeting last week.

By developing the opportunities associated with mountain biking in the area the group, which will meet regularly over the coming months, hopes to encourage more tourists to visit the Tweed Valley and enhance the local economy.

Matthew Taylor meets three-year-old rescue dog Rauour, whose nose is responsible for finding an unconscious missing woman last night.

Tweed Valley Mountain Rescue Team found a missing woman last night with the help of a new rescue dog.

Three-year-old Rauour and handler John, a member of Tweed Valley MRT, found the unconscious woman at 8pm after a three hour search in the Innerleithen area.

Because of the woman’s dark clothing and distance into the woodland, the Mountain Rescue Team claim it was Rauour’s sensitive nose that located the woman.

Despite the difficult conditions, a Royal Navy Seaking Helicopter from HMS Gannet was also scrambled and used its infrared camera to assist in the search.

The helicopter then airlifted the woman to hospital.

Tweed Valley MRT believe Rauour helped to save the woman's life.

Members of the Tweed Valley Mountain Rescue Team have been learning life-saving skills today during a training exercise at the River Ettrick. The Scottish Border based volunteers have been learning how to search rivers safely and rescue people drifting downstream. Jenny Longden reports

A fundraising campaign has been launched to replace the control vehicle used by Tweed Valley Mountain Rescue Team.

The charity, which is made up of on-call volunteers, are asking members of the public to buy a 'virtual pint' online, by donating the cost of a pint to their cause.

They want to buy a new £60,000 state of the art vehicle, equipped with technology such as a satellite data connection, touch screen computers for search planning and the most up to date communications equipment.

The current vehicle is 15 years old.

More information can be found here.

As the Tour De France comes to the North of England, a different type of cycling is taking hold in the South of Scotland.

A national centre for mountain biking has recently opened in the Borders, aiming to help businesses cash-in on growing enthusiasm for the sport. As Joe Pike reports:

Two of the things most celebrated in the Scottish Borders are being brought together in a brand new event.

They're a type of fabric synonomous with the area and the region's favourite sport. Jenny Longden went to the launch of the Tweed cycle ride.

Cyclists in the Scottish Borders are being urged to don their tweeds for a new biking event.

The Tweed Ride launched today as part of the annual TweedLove festival, in association with Homecoming Scotland.

The 10-mile ride will take place on 8 June, and will start in Peebles town centre and finish up at Traquair House, where there will be a mini-festival.

Organisers are encouraging those that want to take part to come decked out in tweed or period clothing.

The latest cycling event to be included in the programme for the TweedLove festival has got the approval of former national mountain biking champion, Andy Barlow.

Tweed Ride is a 10-mile route through the Tweed Valley, and cyclists are encouraged to wear tweed.

Barlow said: "TweedLove is not just about the mountain biking, there is a lot of decent road cycling, there is a whole vibrant scene on the go just now, and the festival just celebrates all of it.

It's the finale of the two week TweedLove biking festival.

He continued: "Whole families can get involved, everyone takes something away from the day and it is just a great way to get involved with the countryside and the area."