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Floors Castle, the huge pale castle with turrets and battlements across a wide lawn under a blue sky.
Scottish Borders

Floors Castle

The great castle of the Dukes of Roxburghe at Kelso, begun in the 1720s, with a walled garden and estate walks open all year.

Welcome

Just outside Kelso, Floors Castle is a vast, pale palace of turrets and battlements, the home of the Dukes of Roxburghe.

It was begun in the 1720s for the Innes Ker family.

From May to September the castle itself opens its rooms and collections, with a cafe in the courtyard. The four-acre walled garden, with its Victorian kitchen gardens and the formal Millennium Garden, is open all year round, along with estate walks, a gift shop in the Apple Shed and the Terrace Cafe.

Through the summer there are outdoor theatre, garden events and family days. For now the castle's lift is being replaced, so the main entrance is reached by steps only, and a careful restoration of the roof is under way.

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The Daily for 14 November, from Scotland with love. A red kayak beached on a loch shore beneath sunlit rocky hills, Sutherland
Not farRutherfords MicropubA small micropub on the Square in Kelso, named CAMRA's Borders Pub of the Year in 2025 and 2026.1 mileSee itThe shopfront of Rutherfords Micropub at 38 The Square in Kelso, with its black sign, red awning and tables and chairs on the pavement.

Before you go

The castle opens from May to September; the walled garden, estate walks and Terrace Cafe open every day all year.

Where
Kelso, TD5 7RL.
Begun
The 1720s.
Gardens
Four acres, open all year.

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Where it is

On the edge of Kelso, TD5 7RL.

Close byKelso.
  1. The broken curtain wall of Roxburgh Castle, with an arched opening, along the top of its grassy mound under a deep blue winter sky, a bare tree rising behind it.Roxburgh CastleThe broken walls of a medieval royal castle on a steep ridge between the Tweed and the Teviot, just west of Kelso.Under a mile as the crow flies
  2. Inside 20 Storey in Kelso: shelves of books, cards and gifts, with prints on the walls20 Storey, KelsoA bookshop and gift shop on the Square in Kelso, named by The Times among the best independent bookshops in the UK.1 mile as the crow flies
  3. Kelso AbbeyKelso AbbeyThe great abbey in the town.2 miles 8 min by road
  4. Stone tower of Smailholm Tower rises above ruined walls and rolling Borders hillsSmailholm TowerA tower house on its crag.6 miles 13 min by road
  5. SCHLOSS RoxburgheSCHLOSS RoxburgheA country resort nearby.6 miles 16 min by road
Directions
The shopfront of Rutherfords Micropub at 38 The Square in Kelso, with its black sign, red awning and tables and chairs on the pavement.BarsRutherfords Micropub1.1 miles
The pale stone front of Ednam House in Kelso, with its pediment and white doorway, across a lawned turning circle on a spring evening.RestaurantsEdnam House1.1 miles
Green-fronted Dor shop at number 38, selling lifestyle goods and coffeeShoppingDōr1.8 miles
The main lawn at Mertoun Gardens in early summer, with tall conifers behind and azaleas in flower along the border.AttractionsMertoun Gardens5.9 miles
Linton Kirk on its grassy knoll, a stone church with a small bellcote, among old gravestones under a summer sky.AttractionsLinton Kirk6.5 miles
A sharing platter laid on an outdoor table at Wilson's Farm and Kitchen: sourdough, cured meats, salad, cheese and pickles, beside a blue jug of pink and green flowers.RestaurantsWilson's Farm and Kitchen6.7 miles
Cessford Castle, a massive roofless tower of red and grey stone, standing in green grass with farmland beyond under a blue sky.AttractionsCessford Castle6.9 miles
Ruined stone castle atop a grassy hill overlooking patchwork farmlandAttractionsHume Castle7.2 miles
Thatched cottage with box hedges and blue poppies in a gardenAttractionsMellerstain House7.2 miles

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Stay nearby

Places to stay near the castle, and when each is next free.

The House in the Hill at dusk, its turf roof over walls of local stone and glass, a bedroom lit inside and the hot tub at the corner.The House in the Hill
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Jedburgh
  • 10 miles from Floors Castle
Free 22–24 NovPlaces to stayEvery stay in the Scottish BordersAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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Read on

What we have written about it, the collections it is in and more in the Scottish Borders.

ArticleSpotlight: SCHLOSS RoxburgheArticleWhere to Stay in the Scottish BordersCollectionCastle Gardens in ScotlandCollectionCastles in Scotland Worth the Entry Fee
More in the Scottish Borders

Find out more

For further reading, before you go. The details on this page were checked on .