An outdoor education centre located in a clearing in the Craik Forest in the S Scottish Borders, the Craikhope Outdoor Centre lies close to the Dumfries and Galloway border, 2½ miles (4 km) southwest of Craik and 13 miles (21 km) southwest of Hawick. The original Craikhope Cottage was renovated as a project by young people from Hawick involved in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme and HRH Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, visited on the 19th May 1976. Unfortunately, three years later the building was gutted by a fire but was soon rebuilt as a purpose-built outdoor centre and opened on the 12th June 1983 by yachtsman Chay Blyth who was born and brought up in Hawick. The Centre provides simple accommodation for up to 30 people, together with a kitchen and wash-room facilities. Power is provided by a generator and heating is via a wood-burning stove, while supplementary heating and cooking is undertaken using gas from an outside storage tank.
The Centre is owned by Scottish Borders Council and run by the Roxburgh District Committee of the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme.
A nature reserve, with a pond, has been created next to the centre.
