The Borders and Dumfries & Galloway
Most visitors cross southern Scotland at speed on the way north. That is their loss. The Borders and Dumfries and Galloway have great ruined abbeys, castles, empty hills and one of the darkest night skies in Britain, and they are rarely crowded.
The Scottish Borders
The Borders lie between Edinburgh and the English border, along the River Tweed and its tributaries. Jedburgh is about 1 hour 15 minutes from Edinburgh.
- The four Border abbeys, founded in the 12th century and repeatedly damaged in wars with England: Melrose, where the heart of Robert the Bruce is believed to be buried; Jedburgh, the most complete; Dryburgh, in a quiet wooded loop of the Tweed, where Sir Walter Scott is buried; and Kelso, the most fragmentary. The first three are run by Historic Environment Scotland.
- Abbotsford, near Melrose, the house Sir Walter Scott built and filled with curiosities. Check opening dates, which are seasonal.
- Floors Castle at Kelso and Traquair House near Innerleithen, both private houses open in season.
- Scott's View, over the Eildon Hills, a few minutes from Dryburgh.
- St Abb's Head, a National Nature Reserve on the coast with seabird cliffs in early summer.
- The Borders Railway runs from Edinburgh Waverley to Tweedbank in about an hour. Tweedbank is a short walk or bus from Abbotsford and Melrose, which makes a car-free day trip possible.
- The Common Ridings, mounted rides around town boundaries, take place in many Border towns in June and July.
Dumfries and Galloway
The south-west corner of Scotland has a long coast on the Solway Firth and the Irish Sea, and wild hills inland. Dumfries is about 1 hour 45 minutes from Edinburgh or Glasgow.
- Caerlaverock Castle (HES), a moated castle with a rare triangular plan, next to a wetland reserve where tens of thousands of barnacle geese spend the winter.
- Sweetheart Abbey at New Abbey, a red sandstone ruin founded by Lady Devorgilla in memory of her husband.
- Drumlanrig Castle near Thornhill, a pink sandstone mansion, open in season.
- Threave Castle, on an island in the River Dee, reached by a small boat in summer.
- Kirkcudbright, a harbour town long popular with artists.
- Wigtown, Scotland's National Book Town, with many second-hand bookshops and a book festival in the autumn.
- Galloway Forest Park, the first Dark Sky Park in the UK, designated in 2009. On clear moonless nights the Milky Way is easily visible.
- The Mull of Galloway, the southernmost point of Scotland, with a lighthouse and RSPB reserve, and Logan Botanic Garden, where palms and tree ferns grow in the mild climate.
- The 7stanes mountain-bike trail centres are spread across southern Scotland.
Why come here?
If you want history, walking and quiet roads without the summer traffic of Skye or Glencoe, southern Scotland is a good choice. It also makes sense if you are driving up from England, or want a few days near Edinburgh without going far north. Most attractions are open from spring to autumn; in winter the abbeys and Caerlaverock are open with shorter hours, while many private houses close.
How long to allow
A day trip covers two of the Border abbeys and Abbotsford. Two or three nights lets you explore Dumfries and Galloway properly, including a dark-sky evening.