Springing open for 2024!
As longer days arrive, it feels like a great time to look forward to Spring and the grand reopening of The Borders Tourist attractions for the 2024 season. Here is a run down of just some of what you can expect across Spring and Summer of 2024 in The Scottish Borders, including the all important opening dates….
Big Hooses
The Borders has some of the finest large houses in Scotland, and they are preparing to welcome visitors once again in the coming months. Traquair opens on Good Friday for their Easter Extravaganza, and that will be Scotland’s oldest inhabited house open for business until Autumn. Floors Castle is also open for Easter Weekend, before their full season opening on 1 May. Thirlestane starts scheduled tours of the stunning castle from May, but private tours can be requested all year round. Within a stones throw of the English Border you’ll find Paxton House who kick things off with a Spring Trail on 29 March, with the stunning Mellerstain opening a week later on 7 April. The grounds of Mellerstain are open all year for visitors to enjoy. Abbotsford has stolen a march on the other big houses, with their doors opening on 1 March after a short winter shut down. Unfortunately Bowhill will not be opening this season as maintenance works are taking place, but the grounds and excellent woodland playground remain open (see below for more info). Finally, Gunsgreen House in Eyemouth has been undergoing extensive maintenance work and hasn’t yet confirmed a reopening date, but watch this space - it’s a remarkable place!
Thrills and Spills
If stately homes are a bit, well, stately then you can get stuck into something a bit more thrilling in The Borders this spring. None more so than St. Abb’s Rib Rides which is an exciting way to view the dramatic and world famous Berwickshire coast. They will start for the season around Easter time.
If you’d rather stay a bit drier then Go Ape at Glentress Forest might be more of your thing - they are open 7 days a week from Easter. I am terrified of heights but managed to get round once while just about maintaining my dignity…
You will once again be able to hire paddleboards at the Loch of The Lowes (by St. Mary’s Loch), thanks to Audrey and Mackenzie at Kayak and SUP Hire Scottish Borders. They’ve done a great job of promoting this stunning wee spot and will return for the 2024 season in the spring.
Finally, and perhaps most exciting of all, is the prospect of the brand new for 2024 Tweed Valley Canoe Trail. This will add new infrastructure to the river, allowing for a leisurely but physically exerting paddle from Easter Dawyck (near Stobo and the stunning Dawyck Botanic Gardens) to Gala Foot (just past Abbotsford). What a wonderful journey that will be - a real boost for The Borders, and a great way to spend a long weekend! There will be more details from Go Tweed Valley about the launch in April, and I will be bringing you lots of content around this - watch this space…
Fun on the water at The Loch of The Lowes
Credit: South of Scotland Destination Alliance | Duncan Ireland
Animal Magic
Have you been to Jacksons at Jedburgh? If not, then make this the year you visit this progressive and welcoming farm which has experiences for everyone from April - October (with lambing experiences on offer in April and May). Spend anytime in The Borders and you will realise how important farming is to the area - this is your chance to learn more.
Early 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 TVB Tours alongside the River Tweed and look for the magnificent fishing hawks in the flesh!
Museums and Gardens
Spring brings the magnificent gardens of The Borders to life. All the big houses above have superb floral, displays as do Priorwood Garden & Harmony Garden in Melrose (opens 1 April). Bowhill House may be closed for the season, but the Bowhill Gardens (and brilliant adventure playground) are open for Easter and May Bank Holiday weekends before full opening 1 June - 31 August.
A personal favourite of mine, the John Buchan Story Museum in Peebles will open again for the season on 1 April. The writers strong links with The Borders are celebrated here, and on the TVB Tours Literary Tour. On my last visit I was recommended Buchan’s novel “Witchwood” - one of the finest I have ever read. Make this year the one you give this wonderful author a try…
Talking of Borders Icons, they don’t come any bigger than Jim Clark - the Borders farmer who conquered the world of motorsport. The magnificent Jim Clark Motorsport Museum opens in March. If you haven’t been since the museum was given a big upgrade a few years ago then get this into your diary - a superb exhibition to a fascinating man.
If Rugby is more your thing then the Hawick Museum will be of great interest - they reopen on 1 March and have two exhibitions - the Bill McLaren Centenary and Hawick RFC 150 anniversary. Entry is free - other Live Borders Museums in the area include Halliwell’s House and Sir Walter Scott’s Courtroom in Selkirk (both open 29 March), Mary Queen of Scots House (1 March) and Jedburgh Castle Jail and Museum (29 March). The Coldstream Museum opens on 29 March and is well worth a stop before or after crossing the Border.
For a unique experience, head to Robert Smail’s Printing Works - a time capsule where Victorian techniques and equipment is still used to produce stunning printed posters and artworks. Opens for the season from 29 March in Innerleithen.
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.
The Jim Clark Motorsport Museum, Duns
Credit: South of Scotland Destination Alliance | Jason Baxter
Historic Scottish Borders
There are twelve places in The Borders under the stewardship of Historic Environment Scotland, including the Border Abbeys which are open all year at Jedburgh, Dryburgh and Melrose. Sadly Kelso Abbey is completely restricted due to masonry concerns and can only be viewed from a distance. Two further properties are reopening this spring and both are worth visiting. Hermitage Castle and Smailholm Tower open on 1 April. The former has access restrictions, in common with many other HES properties, but is still worth the long journey towards Liddesdale - see at on the Mary Queen of Scots Tour. Smailholm is a very fine example of the sort of fortified tower which once studded the region, and includes the superb Anne Carrick figures. These tell the story of Walter Scott and the Border Ballads, and are worth the admission alone.
If you fancy something a bit different then a Berwickshire Tour will take you to the Norman Arch at Edrom Church, the rare Foulden Tithe Barn and, after a decent hike, the staggering Edin’s Hall Broch.
The magnificent Smailholm Tower
Credit: South of Scotland Destination Alliance | Duncan Ireland
I trust 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! Below, you can find a Google map pinpointing the locations of all the attractions and activities mentioned.
