One Day In The Scottish Borders (& Why It’s Better Than The Highlands)

Driving through the Scottish Borders probably isn’t on the top of your list of things to do in Scotland, but it should be. The Scottish Borders are as impressive (if not more so) as the Highlands. But they’re also more easily accessible in one day from Edinburgh.

One day in the Scottish Borders is spent visiting small towns, abbeys, and historical landmarks. And this is Scotland after all, so you’re met with gorgeous landscapes along the drive!

Keep reading to find out more about things to do in the Scottish Borders, how to get there, and why you should ultimately visit instead of going to the Highlands!

Psst! This blog post contains affiliate links in it which sends me a bit of extra money if you use them… at no extra cost to you!

Where Are The Scottish Border?

The Scottish Borders are in southern Scotland bordering well, England. They also border East Lothian, and Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland. Popular towns in the Scottish Borders include Melrose, Berrick-upon-Tweed, and Jedburgh.

Why Visit Scottish Borders Instead Of The Highlands?

The Scottish Borders literally border the City of Edinburgh – that makes them A LOT closer to visit than the Highlands. You can easily visit the Scottish Borders in one day from Edinburgh where as you’ll need at least two days in the Scottish Highlands and I don’t even think that’s enough to fully appreciate it.

The Scottish Borders are equally (if not more) beautiful than the Sottish Highlands. There aren’t as many grandiose mountains, it’s more flat land but there are some beautiful rolling hills to admire. Let’s just say, you won’t be disappointed with the views here.

Instead of castles, the Scottish Borders are more about visiting abbeys which is a nice change of pace from the rest of Scotland.

Need A Place To Stay In Edinburgh?

What’s nice about the Scottish Borders is that you can easily visit in one day from Edinburgh. The less movement on vacation for me, the better! Are you looking for a place to stay in Edinburgh? Here are a few recommendations!

I stayed at an Airbnb for a month in Edinburgh just across from The Meadows. For shorter stays, I found these accommodations to stay at for every type of traveller.

Best Location & Price: Just down the street from the Royal Mile Motel One Edinburgh – Royal is a short walk to all the main attractions. See room rates & availability.

Modern & New Apartment: Stay in Edinburgh’s New Town at Golden Thistle Apartment to live like a local. It’s offers a beautifully renovated modern apartment with cafes and bars at your fingertips! See room rates & availability on Plum Guide.

Luxury: The Balmoral Hotel is Edinburgh’s finest hotel but nothing compares to it. J.K. even stayed here to finish writing the Harry Potter Series. Maybe you’ll get lucky and stay in the same suite! See room rates & availability.

See other accommodations on Booking.com in Edinburgh, or more apartments on Plum Guide.

The Easiest Way To See The Scottish Borders Is With A Car…

There are trains connecting the bigger towns, but it is easiest way to see the Scotland Borders is if you have a car. The problem is that the towns are very small, and there’s only one attraction in each. So you’ll need to visit a few towns in one day to make your visit worthwhile.

Driving will let you see the most in the short amount of time you have. The only problem with driving in is that the conditions are only slightly terrifying…

The Reality Of Driving In The Scottish Borders

The downside to driving through the Scottish Border is the actual driving conditions. For starters, coming from North America, you’re on the opposite side of the road.  

But on top of that, the road conditions are terrifying to drive on. They’re very narrow, and in my mind, it was a one-lane TWO WAY road! Sometimes there wasn’t even enough space to pull over if there was an oncoming car. 

Then there are a lot of blind corners, and I found the speed limit to be way too high. The thought of another car came coming up around the bend terrified me. But in reality, there aren’t too many people driving out here… I guess they just don’t expect much traffic on these roads. 

By the way driving in the Highlands isn’t any better (in case you were wondering….).

Alternative To Driving: Scottish Border Organized Tours

If you cannot fathom driving, you can give up some flexibility and book an organized tour. Viator offers a few options for day trips from Edinburgh.

An organized tour from Edinburgh is the perfect compromise – you don’t have to drive yourself but you’ll be able to visit more than one place in one day. Just find a tour that works for you! It’s a totally stress-free day!

My Recommendation For One Day In The Scottish Borders: Buy The Explorer Pass

There are three main abbeys to stop in the Scottish Borders: Melrose, Dryburgh, and Jedburgh. They’re are all included in the Scottish Explorer Pass, so if you’re interested in visiting them (and other castles in Scotland), I highly recommended buying the pass.

If you don’t have the pass, each abbey will cost about £6 so I don’t think it’s worth it stopping at all three. Especially since they all cover roughly the same material. In that case, if you only visit one I’d say the most worthwhile is Melrose Abbey in Scotland. It has a museum included in the admission and an audio guide.

You can skip Dryburgh altogether (it’s the most ruined), and at Jedburgh (our favourite) you can see everything without paying.

Things To Do In The Scottish Borders

Now that we’ve gone over the basics, it’s time to go over what you should do in the Scottish Borders…

Visit Abbotsford House

The first stop on your Scottish Border road trip is Abbotsford, home of Sir Walter Scott.

Sir Walter Scott was a very famous Scottish author. He essentially put Scotland on the map by popularizing and reviving the clan stories of the Jacobites. In a way, he made Scotland the land of plaid and tartan (so you have him to thank for all your patterned Scottish souvenirs!).

Here, you have the opportunity to visit his beautiful home and walk around the gardens. This is the only activity in the day that isn’t included in the Explorer Pass, but in my mind, it’s worth the extra cost.

Don’t worry about parking here, there’s a free lot outside the house. 

Visit Melrose Town & Abbey

Melrose Abbey In Scotland

Not too far from Abbotsford, you’ll find the town of Melrose and its abbey. The abbey has a few walls still standing so you get a sense of the grandiose size of the building.

Once you’re visiting the abbey, you’ll want to walk through the graveyard as well. It’s supposed to be the burial spot of Robert de Bruce’s heart. Robert de Bruce (King of Scotland), is the true Braveheart, and not William Wallace. When he died, they removed his heart to throw first into battles until they buried it in the abbey.

With your ticket, you’ll get an audio guide, and access to a museum. Don’t forget to keep your eye out for the stone pig playing the bagpipes on the wall. You can also climb to a second level of the abbey and get a birds eye view of the grounds.

Walk Through The Town Of Melrose

Melrose is a lot smaller than I thought it would be. When researching the Scottish Borders, it seemed as though this was one of the main towns to stop in. But just because it’s small, doesn’t mean it’s not worth a quick walkthrough.

One of the main places to check out is the Priorwood Gardens next to the abbey. If it’s warm enough outside, this is the perfect spot for a picnic lunch. You’ll have the ultimate view of the Melrose abbey!

The town has only one main street but there are a few shops, restaurants, and cafes to check out. If you have a bit of extra time, you can also head to the Roman Heritage Museum in town.

This was the only town and destination that you might have to pay for parking. If you’re lucky, you can find street parking for free. But be careful, you don’t want to waste too much time looking; if you can’t find anything, there’s a paid lot across from the abbey.

Quick Stop At The Leaderfoot Viaduct

This is a short pit stop on the side of the road. When driving on the highway, keep your eyes open for the signs to exit and to find the Leaderfoot parking lot. It’s a short walk from the parking lot to the viaduct where you can walk around and admire the views.

There’s a plaque here to get a bit more information about the history of the viaduct as well.

Worthwhile But Terrifying Drive To Scott’s View

Once you’re back in the car, get ready to drive up the mountain for some incredible, out of this world views of the Scottish Borders. Follow signs for Scott’s View to know where to go.

If you haven’t been comfortable driving up to this point, I recommend skipping Scott’s View… The road, if it were even possible, gets even narrower. You’re also going uphill, and there’s really no space to pull over if there’s oncoming traffic.

You might not encounter any cars on your way, but if you do you might be in trouble. But it’s really not that popular (especially during low season) so there aren’t many cars on the road. We still encountered one car each way, and thankfully they were both in relatively easy-ish spots for one of us to somewhat let the other one pass by.

Once you make it to the top, just take some time to really appreciate this out of this world view!

Say Hi To Sir William Wallace!

Another quick pit stop to make is at the William Wallace statue. If you didn’t know, Sir William Wallace was pretty important to Scottish history fighting in the First War of Scottish Independence. Braveheart, the movie, is based on his story.

Again, you’ll have to keep your eyes peeled for the signs on the road telling you when to pull over into the parking lot. From the parking lot, it’s less than a 5-minute walk to the giant stone statue of Sir William Wallace.

It’s a pretty peaceful walk as well, through the forest and Scottish farms. This is the only way to see the statue. We originally thought we could just drive by to see it, but there’s no way you can see him from the road.

Visit Dryburgh Abbey

Dryburgh Abbey is the most ruined, but the most different from the other two Scottish Border abbeys. Instead of being on the edge of a town, it sits surrounded by greenery and borders the Tweed River. If you have the Explorer Pass, it’s definitely worth a quick stop.

There are two points of interest you’ll want to look for at Dryburgh abbey: the gravesite of Sir Walter Scott, and a 1000-year-old yew tree.

There’s a free parking lot before you reach the abbey.

The Town Of Jedburgh

If you’re pressed for time or don’t have a car, I’d recommend coming here over any other town in the Scottish Borders. It’s the largest town in the Scottish Borders, with the abbey to explore, along with two other museums.

I also suggest making a pit stop at the Abbey View Café for a delicious pick me up and homemade scone or cake after your visit!

Jedburgh Abbey

Jedburgh Abbey is the most intact of the Scottish Border abbeys. It was pretty much just missing windows and a roof. There’s even an entire intact rooms to explore so you really get a sense of the full size of the abbey. There’s a short museum explaining life at the abbey and its history too.

But the best part is that you don’t even have to pay to see it. If you don’t have the pass, you can walk right up to it and see the entire way through.

Park for free in the visitor’s centre, directly across from the abbey.

Other Museums In Town

There are two other museums you can visit in Jedburgh: Mary Queen of Scots House, and the Jedburgh Castle Jail and Museum.

We opted for the Mary Queen of Scots House and in our minds, a day trip to the Scottish Borders was worth it just for this exhibit alone. We had been in Scotland for a few weeks at this point and Mary was connected to several places we had visited. The museum gave us all the information we were looking for and rounded out our Scotland trip very nicely.

It went over all the key players in her life, why she was loved, and why she was ultimately killed. Oh and did I mention it’s totally free!?

You can also visit the Jedburgh Castle Jail and Museum if you’re more interested in that. It takes you through what it’s like to be in an 1820s prison.

Finally Stop At The Border… Are You In England Or Scotland?

The last stop on our Scottish Borders itinerary is about a 20-minute drive from Jedburgh.

You’re going to Craig’s bar – or well the Scotland and English Border. Here you can literally have one foot in England and one in Scotland. It’s also up at the top of a mountain, so it gives you some pretty beautiful views as well (which is never a bad thing!).

The parking lot is right off the highway so keep your eyes peeled. The sign appears quickly so before turning in, be aware of traffic behind you.

Points Of Interest Near The Scottish Borders

There are a few other points of interest around the Scottish Borders that we didn’t have a chance to see.

Rosslyn Chapel

Rosslyn Chapel is very popular spot to visit in Midlothian, just outside Edinburgh and before reaching the Scottish Borders. The chapel was founded in the 1400s but it really became popular after Dan Brown published the DaVinci code. The novel ended at none other than Rosslyn Chapel and the film also used it as a filming location.

Find more information here.

Berrwick-Upon-Tweed

Berrwick-upon-Tweed is in Northumberland, England bordering the Scotland. This is a beach town you can visit with a castle to explore as well.

Hadrians Wall

Another very popular spot in England to visit is Hadrians Wall. This is a 73 mile ruined wall from the Roman Empire. Although it looks like it separated England and Scotland, it never did! This is a UNESCO world heritage site.

Find more information here.

Consiser Time Constraints On A Day Trip From Edinburgh

Keep an eye on the time if you want to make it to certain museums in Jedburgh. We planned to arrive no later than 3:00 P.M. to be able to visit the Abbey and the Mary Queen of Scots House. During the off-peak season, the Abbey closes at 4:00 P.M.

Another thing to watch out for is sunset, especially if you’re visiting Scotland in the fall. Sunset is pretty early, with the sun starting to set around 4:00 P.M., and we didn’t want to drive back in the dark. But I will admit, sunsets in Scotland are magical even from the road!

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• What I Wish I’d Known Before Driving in Scotland
• The Best Castles to Visit Near Edinburgh
• Scotland Souvenirs To Bring Back

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