Hidden Scotland
Sign in

Welcome to
the Scottish Borders.

Borders Distillery · the Scottish Borders
Scottish Borders

Borders Distillery.

Read about it
 
0108
Scottish Borders  9° · Cloudy
Scottish Borders

Where to go, eat and stay in the Scottish Borders.

Driving into the Borders, you want to slow the car right down. Rolling green hills run down to the River Tweed, and handsome old towns like Peebles, Melrose and Kelso are full of independent shops and cafés.

Abbeys, castles and Walter Scott's housePlaces to visitCountry inns, delis and harbour cafésFood and drinkShops, studios and makersShops and makersCountry hotels, cabins and hideawaysPlaces to stayDays we have driven, stop by stopDays out
The guide

Our guide to the Scottish Borders.

All of the Scottish Borders, part by part: what is where, how to get round, and where to eat and stay. Photographed by us.

Read the guide to the Scottish Borders
From our guideTraquairTraquair HouseDryburghDryburgh AbbeyNear KelsoMellerstain HouseNear KelsoSmailholm TowerNear LauderThirlestane CastleMelroseMelrose Abbey

The history of The Borders.

The Borders region has seen more than its share of bloodshed over the centuries.

Read it
Days outA morningFloors Castle and afternoon tea in the Terrace CaféNo car neededA morningKailzie Gardens near PeeblesBy carA morningThe Slitrig and the Motte walk in HawickBy carA morningThe Sware Circuit walk past Neidpath Castle from PeeblesBy carA morningThe Kelso Town Trail walkBy carA morningThe Jedburgh Town Trail walkBy car

New days out in the Scottish Borders.

Ready-made days, the newest first, each with its drive times, its stops and somewhere to eat.

See every day out in the Scottish Borders
Did you know5 minutes ago

Wilderkin, a cabin near Carlops in the Scottish Borders about half an hour from Edinburgh, runs its lights and sockets off a wind turbine.

Wilderkin is a one-bedroom cabin for two in a private glade near Carlops, in the Scottish Borders, and Edinburgh is only about half an hour away. Yet it lives off grid. The lights and sockets run off a wind turbine, the heat comes from a big woodburner, there's a compost toilet beside the rainfall shower, and in true off-grid style there's no wifi. What you get instead is a picture window looking across gorse and heather slopes to the Pentland Hills, a record player, books and board games, and a Japanese-style ofuro hot tub outside. Come with warm clothes and sturdy boots, and the city soon feels a long way off.

See Wilderkin Cabin · Scottish Borders
Free18 minutes agoScottish BordersLochcarron Visitor CentreAttractionScottish BordersSt Abb’s Head National Nature ReserveAttractionScottish BordersColdingham BayAttractionScottish BordersSiccar PointAttractionScottish BordersThe Falls of ClydeAttraction

Free to visit.

Beaches, waterfalls, viewpoints and stones: nothing to pay and nobody to ask.

See all the places to visit
From our archive31 minutes ago

Paxton House, Scottish Borders.

A Palladian country house of the 1750s above the Tweed near Berwick, built for a lost love and filled with Chippendale furniture.

See the place
Quiz44 minutes ago

The Borders Distillery in Hawick draws its cooling water from the river that runs beside it. Which river?

In the Borders57 minutes ago

Cedar Hus, the travelling wood-fired sauna near Melrose, has won the Innovation Award at the South of Scotland Thistle Awards.

The sauna moves round the Borders, setting up somewhere new every few months. "When we started Cedar Hus, we didn't have it all figured out and we still don't," said its manager, Joanna Graham.

Read about it
From the magazine1 hour agoThe printed copy of Issue 06Issue 06Spring / Summer 2023

One wing of Abbotsford, Sir Walter Scott's grand home in the Scottish Borders, takes overnight guests, and it is still filled with the Scott family's original furniture.

It is called the Hope Scott wing, and it was once the home of Scott's granddaughter, Charlotte Hope Scott, who inherited Abbotsford and commissioned the new wing for herself and her family. Staying there is an immersive way to see the house. The rest of Abbotsford, which stands on a 1,400-acre estate, is largely open to the public, and visitors can see Scott's writing desk, his beautiful library and other things from his personal collection.

See Abbotsford, Home of Sir Walter Scott · Scottish Borders
Your dates1 hour ago

Know when you are going? Tell us, and we will show you only what is free.

Choose your dates at the top of this page, and every place below narrows to the ones with those nights open.

Choose your dates
Newly discovered1 hour agoScottish BordersColdingham Beach CaféCafeScottish BordersThe Woodlands CaféCafeScottish BordersThe Falls of ClydeAttractionScottish BordersEbbcarrs CafeCafeScottish BordersMarchmont HouseAttractionScottish BordersThe Clubhouse, EyemouthRestaurant

Some good places to go, newly added to the site.

The newest places on our pages in Borders.

Browse everywhere to go
Did you know1 hour ago

The monks of Kelso Abbey first settled at Selkirk, then moved to be near a royal castle.

The abbey was founded by monks invited by King David I. They first settled at Selkirk, then moved to Kelso in 1128, close to David's new castle at Roxburgh. Kelso grew into one of Scotland's largest and wealthiest religious houses.

See Kelso Abbey · Scottish Borders