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Smailholm Tower, the tall stone tower on its rocky crag above rolling green farmland.
Scottish Borders

Smailholm Tower

A remarkably complete 15th-century tower house on a crag near Kelso, home to Walter Scott's ancestors, with wide views over the Borders.

Welcome

On a rocky crag above the rolling farmland between Melrose and Kelso, Smailholm Tower stands tall and alone.

Built in the 1400s, it is remarkably complete, still roofed and floored, and inside its massive walls, nearly two metres thick, it feels as if the reivers left only yesterday.

The tower meant a great deal to Walter Scott. His ancestors lived here, and the tower and the old Border ballads fired his imagination. An exhibition inside tells that story, and it was Scott who persuaded the painter Turner to come and paint the tower.

From the top, the views stretch across the Borders, and on a clear day you can even see Bamburgh Castle on the Northumberland coast. The tower opens four days a week through the summer.

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The Daily for 31 October, from Scotland with love. A ring of standing stones set among mist and autumn birch
Not farMertoun GardensTwenty-six acres of gardens round Mertoun House by the Tweed near St Boswells, cared for by a charitable trust since 1984.2 milesSee itThe main lawn at Mertoun Gardens in early summer, with tall conifers behind and azaleas in flower along the border.
Before you go

Open April to September, Friday to Monday, 10am to 4.30pm (closed noon to 1pm); closed October to March.

Where
Sandyknowe, between Melrose and Kelso.
Built
The 1400s.
Inside
An exhibition on Scott and the ballads.

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Where it is

At Sandyknowe Farm, about seven miles from Kelso and nine from Melrose, by minor country roads.

Close byKelso.
  1. Thatched cottage with box hedges and blue poppies in a gardenMellerstain HouseA Robert Adam house near Kelso, open for guided tours from May to September, with gardens, parkland walks and a courtyard cafe.4 miles 11 min by road
  2. 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.5 miles as the crow flies
  3. The giant red sandstone statue of William Wallace with sword and shield on a tall plinth against a blue sky.Wallace StatueA 31-foot red sandstone statue of William Wallace, set up in 1814 on a wooded hillside above the Tweed near Dryburgh.5 miles 11 min by road
  4. Scott’s ViewScott’s ViewScott's favourite view.6 miles 12 min by road
  5. Kelso AbbeyKelso AbbeyThe great abbey at Kelso.7 miles 15 min by road
Directions
The main lawn at Mertoun Gardens in early summer, with tall conifers behind and azaleas in flower along the border.AttractionsMertoun Gardens2.0 miles
Café interior with wooden tables, chalkboard menu and a "Deli & Home" signShoppingThe Mainstreet Trading Company5.3 miles
Apple trees in blossom in the orchard at Priorwood Garden, with the red stone ruin of Melrose Abbey beyond the wall.AttractionsPriorwood Garden5.6 miles
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 Micropub5.6 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 House5.6 miles
Empty bar stools face shelves of spirits behind a panelled counterRestaurantsBuccleuch Arms5.6 miles
Inside the Trimontium Museum: Roman cavalry armour, helmets, a painted shield and a silver face-mask helmet in dark cases lit red.AttractionsTrimontium Museum5.6 miles
Ruined stone walls and arched windows of Dryburgh Abbey under grey skyAttractionsDryburgh Abbey5.7 miles
Aerial view of Fyvie Castle's turreted grounds surrounded by autumn woodland and fieldsAttractionsFloors Castle5.7 miles

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Stay nearby

Places to stay near the tower, 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
  • 12 miles from Smailholm Tower
Free 31 Oct – 2 NovA grey stone farmhouse with several chimneys stands against rolling hills, a wildflower meadow in the foreground.The Scullery
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Yarrow
  • 19 miles from Smailholm Tower
Free 13–15 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 and more in the Scottish Borders.

ArticleSir Walter Scott’s ScotlandArticleWhere to Stay in the Scottish Borders
More in the Scottish Borders
Find out more

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