Hidden Scotland
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Museums and history
in the Scottish Borders.

It’s 20:05 in the Borders.
Scottish Borders

Reivers, weavers and Walter Scott.

History is everywhere in the Borders, and its museums tell it well. Visit the house in Jedburgh where Mary Queen of Scots stayed in 1566, a smuggler's house on Eyemouth harbour, and a restored tower house that now holds the story of Border knitwear. There's a jail of the 1820s, a tall monument to Waterloo, and free town museums in Hawick, Selkirk and Coldstream. Most are small and easy to fit into a day.

Waterloo Monument→
Borders Textile Towerhouse→
Gunsgreen House→
Mary Queen of Scots Visitor Centre→
Coldstream Museum→
Lochcarron Visitor Centre→
Jedburgh Castle Jail & Museum→
Place of the day18 hours ago

Coldstream Museum.

A free museum on Market Square in Coldstream, telling the story of the town and of the Coldstream Guards, with a courtyard gallery.

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

The newest places on our pages in Borders.

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From our guide15 hours ago

Hawick Museum.

Based in an old bay-windowed mansion in Wilton Lodge Park, this enjoyable, free-to-enter museum has part of Hawick’s story for more than a century. Exhibits include dedicated sections on local motorbike champions Jimmy Guthrie and Steve Hislop, as well as displays on subjects as diverse as Ancient Egypt and the war years.

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Lunch13 hours agoScottish BordersThree Hills Coffee9.0 milesScottish BordersAbbey Bridge Coffee House & Pizzeria9.9 milesScottish BordersSimply Scottish9.9 miles

Lunch near Borders Textile Towerhouse.

The three good places closest to it: Three Hills Coffee, Abbey Bridge Coffee House & Pizzeria and Simply Scottish.

See Borders Textile Towerhouse
From our guide11 hours ago

Halliwell’s House Museum.

You’ll feel within touching distance of the 18th century at this days-of-yore dwelling on an old cobbled close in Selkirk. A carefully reconstructed ironmongers shop occupies the ground floor, while other displays focus on the town’s industrial past, and the historical traditions and festivals that still have root in the area.

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From our guide9 hours ago

Eyemouth and Gunsgreen House.

The natural harbour at Eyemouth has a fishing heritage dating back at least seven centuries, and the little town was once a thriving hub for hauls of haddock and herring. Today it’s still a colourful, enjoyable place to spend time, with particular mention going to Gunsgreen House, which long had a starring role in Eyemouth’s alcohol-soaked past as a smugglers’ haven.

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From our guide8 hours ago

Mary Queen of Scots’ House.

Few historical figures still generate quite so much interest as the ill-fated Mary Queen of Scots. This absorbing exhibition – set in a 16th-century towerhouse – does a fine job of telling her tragic life story through period objects, paintings, letters and textiles. Long before her grisly end, Mary herself spent a month here in Jedburgh in 1566.

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From our guide6 hours ago

Jim Clark Motorsport Museum.

In the words of Formula One legend Juan Manuel Fangio, Scotland’s own Jim Clark was “the greatest racing driver ever”. This is no idle claim: among many other honours, Clark won two F1 world championships, the Indianapolis 500, and even found time to chalk up a podium finish at the Le Mans 24 hour race. This museum, which combines authentic race cars and priceless memorabilia with archive footage, tells his remarkable tale. It was opened by another track star, Sir Jackie Stewart, in 2019.

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From our guide4 hours ago

Waterloo Monument.

A lofty Doric column quarried from local stone, the 150ft Waterloo Monument has stood on the skyline for some 200 years, having been commissioned by a local nobleman to commemorate the Duke of Wellington’s victory over Napoleon. It took two attempts to build – the first collapsed in 1815 ‘with a tremendous crash’ – but the views from its base today are staggering.

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From our guide3 hours ago

Jedburgh Castle Jail & Museum.

In the 1820s, this solid Jedburgh stronghold was a prison, and a visit today gives the chance to wander the original cell blocks, while learning more about the inglorious pasts of specific inmates and keeping a wary eye out for the resident ghosts. The prison, which is less harsh in appearance than you might expect, makes for a fascinating tour.

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Museums and historyJust now

Mary Queen of Scots Visitor Centre.

Mary Queen of Scots lived in troubled times and her story is a sad one. Visit this house to find out about her life, her time spent in Jedburgh and her death by execution.

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