Spring in the Scottish Borders
Spring is one of the most exciting times to explore the Scottish Borders. As the days lengthen and the landscape comes back to life, historic houses reopen, gardens burst into colour and outdoor adventures return to the Tweed Valley. This 2026 guide brings together some of the best things to do this season in the Tweed Valley and wider Borders region, including opening dates, family‑friendly activities, local events and inside tips that only a local guide would know.
Big Houses & Historic Estates opening spring 2026
The Borders’ grand houses re-open each spring with new energy, events and family activities. These 2026 opening highlights help you choose the perfect visit in the Scottish Borders.
Traquair House opens for the season on 1 April. Scotland’s oldest inhabited house hosts the ever popular Easter Fair on 5 April and the Medieval Fayre weekend on 27 May. A great day out for families.
Abbotsford welcomes visitors to the home of Sir Walter Scott from 1 March. Look out for a textile art trail in the stunning gardens from 13 - 17 May.
Mellerstain begins guided house tours from Good Friday, 3 April. Marvel at one of the UK’s finest Georgian interiors, designed by the celebrated Adam family, before exploring the grounds - look out for roe deer.
Floors Castle styles itself as the gem of The Scottish Borders and with good reason. See its wonders for yourself when the house opens over the Easter weekend, before the full season begins on 1 May.
Traquair House and Maze
Credit: Tweed Valley Blogger
Outdoor Adventures for thrill seekers…
From mountain biking in Glentress to high‑ropes challenges and river dooks, spring is the ideal time to get outdoors in the Tweed Valley. These updated 2026 options cover some of the best activities and local operators.
Go Ape at Glentress Forest begin peak season from Good Friday, 3 April. They have the highest zip line in the UK. Great for adventurous over 10’s in the Easter break…
The Tweed Valley Canoe Trail starts it’s season officially at Easter. Now into its third year, the trail is establishing itself as a real draw for the Tweed Valley. Will you take the challenge of Dawyck to Abbotsford in 2026?
Glentress 7 returns on 30 May. As the organisers say it is “more then just a bike race” with whoever rides the most laps in 7 gruelling hours winning. Always a great atmosphere, and a good day out for spectators too…
Tweed Valley Wilding have bookable, guided wild swims this spring, including a dawn chorus swim in the upper Tweed on Sunday 19 April. Will this be the year to start dipping? No better way to do it than in the hands of an experience guide like Ingrid.
Wild Swimming, led by Tweed Valley Wilding
Credit: Eastgate Theatre/Gareth Easton
Wildlife encounters
If you love spotting animals out and about on your walks, spring is the season to get outside. Ospreys are the real stars of the season, and catching sight of one diving for fish is a memory that stays with you. It’s a great way to get kids excited about nature too - across The Borders we have a real mix of habitats just waiting to be explored.
April will hopefully see the return of our magnificent Tweed Valley Ospreys. From May you will be able to watch them on cameras, sending pictures back to the viewing centre at Glentress Forest. Or, even better, take a guided walk with Tweed Valley Blogger Tours alongside the River Tweed and look for the magnificent fishing hawks in the flesh! Other migrants making their way back in spring include sand martins (look out for river bank nests), Swallows and, later, Swifts.
The River Tweed is well known for salmon fishing, but also has a well established trout season, which starts on 1 April. This year, to celebrate the season and draw more spotlight to this important part of our local culture, Kailzie Estate just outside Peebles are hosting the first Tweed Trout Festival on Saturday 4 April. This event aims to appeal to families, newcomers and seasoned anglers alike. Get along between 10 and 4 for demonstrations, stalls and the opportunity to cast a line and hopefully hook the first trout of the season!
Roe deer and the larger, invasive sika deer are numerous in the Scottish Borders, with the odd herd of fallow deer on estates. Look for them at dawn and dusk during spring, often on the edge of woodland.
Otter are becoming increasingly visible along the river tweed and it’s tributaries such as the Teviot. Spring evenings are a good time to look for these incredible hunters.
Finally, spring is when bats make themselves lively again. Dusk is when they will leave their roosts to feast - did you know that one tiny pipistrelle (the most common breed in the area) can eat up to 3,000 midges a night!
Museums and Gardens
As the days stretch out and the first warm light returns to the valleys, museums and gardens begin to open their doors again. Trails that lay quiet through winter lead to walled gardens waking with colour, glasshouses filled with new growth and galleries ready to be explored at an easy, quiet pace during the season of fresh starts. Here are some of my highlights…
Kailzie Estate opens the famous Kailzie Gardens on Friday 3 April. Look out for a newly stocked gift shop for this season, and small changes as they begin the first full season under new ownership…
Also in Peeblesshire, Dawyck Botanic Gardens has already opened for the season. This garden is a gem, and rewards the effort to climb up its full length with a nationally important collection of heritage trees and ‘world tour’ of flora. Lok out for spring bluebells…
The town of Melrose is spoiled for choice with two National Trust gardens - Priorwood and Harmony. Priorwood opens on 27 March and is perfect for a picnic in the rustic walled garden, overlooking the abbey. Harmony garden lies just across the road, and opens on 13 March. The manicured lawns are home of the Borders Book Festival each June.
A personal favourite of mine, the John Buchan Story Museum in Peebles will open again for the season on 1 April. Buchan was a national figure, however this museum skilfully ties his story back to Peeblesshire and also features his sister, Anna, herself a successful novelist in her own right. It is free, and well worth a visit.
Mary Queen of Scots’ Visitor Centre in Jedburgh opened up on 1 March and if you wait until April it can be paired up with Jedburgh Castle Jail Museum. Both are free and run by charity Live Borders who have a number of small museums across the region, with these two being among the best.
For a unique experience, head to Robert Smail’s Printing Works in Innerleithen- a time capsule where Victorian techniques and equipment is still used to produce stunning printed posters and artworks. Now open for the season, with tours on Mondays and Thursdays throughout March & April.
Finally, Trimontium Museum has already opened for the season and is another ‘must see’ in The Borders. You can join them for a guided walk around the Roman Fort at Newstead, starting later in the Spring.
I hope this blog has provided you with plenty of ideas for planning your Borders adventure this season. Feel free to share any insights or suggestions I might have overlooked. You can keep up with my spring adventures by following me on Instagram.
