Scotland’s greatest stories don’t end at our gallery walls. They stretch across the Scottish Borders, into ancient houses, ruined abbeys and rooms that have sheltered queens, rebels and kings. Here is where to find them…
The Great Tapestry of Scotland tells 420 million years of Scottish history across 160 hand-stitched panels, and some of the most compelling chapters in that story are still standing, just a short drive from Galashiels. If a panel stopped you in your tracks and made you want to know more, these are the historic houses and abbeys in the Scottish Borders where you can follow the thread in person.
The Great Tapestry of Scotland 2-Day Ticket
Before you set off, a practical note: Our new 2-Day Ticket provides you with two visits to The Tapestry within the same week. Come on your first day to discover the stories of Scotland, head out to follow them and return a few days later with new eyes. Some stories take more than one visit…
Bowhill House & Gardens, Selkirk
In 1322, King Robert the Bruce granted the lands of Ettrick Forest to the Scott clan in recognition of their loyalty. Those lands eventually became the estate surrounding Bowhill House, and the Scotts of Buccleuch have been at the heart of Scottish history ever since.
The tales of the Buccleuch family and Bowhill are almost as old as the nation of Scotland itself. The present house dates mainly from 1812, expanded throughout the 19th century by architects William Atkinson, William Burn and David Bryce to keep up with the demands of Victorian socialising and entertaining. Inside, walls are lined with masterworks by Canaletto, Raeburn, Reynolds and Gainsborough, while rich tapestries splash colour and French furniture and Meissen and Sèvres porcelain evoke a refined era of cultural distinction.
Sir Walter Scott, himself a kinsman of the Buccleuchs, loved Bowhill so much he named it “Sweet Bowhill” in his poem The Lay of the Last Minstrel. The manuscript of that poem can still be seen in the house today. Scott’s own life and legacy runs through multiple panels of The Great Tapestry and Bowhill brings that world into three dimensions.
Enjoy 10% off in August 2026
The estate is open for country walks, woodland trails, and fishing, with an adventure playground for younger visitors. This August, visitors who present their Tapestry ticket at Bowhill receive 10% off their entry, making it the ideal next stop on a Borders weekend.
The Great Border Abbeys: Melrose, Jedburgh, Dryburgh and Kelso
Four of Scotland’s most magnificent medieval ruins sit within 30 minutes of Galashiels by road or bus. The Borders Abbeys – Melrose, Jedburgh, Dryburgh and Kelso – were among the most powerful religious institutions in medieval Scotland, founded by King David I in the 12th century and destroyed and rebuilt repeatedly over the centuries of conflict with England.
Melrose Abbey is perhaps the most famous. It is here, according to legend, that the heart of Robert the Bruce is buried, the king who secured Scotland’s independence. Standing in the roofless nave, the scale of what was lost and what survived is genuinely moving.
Dryburgh Abbey, in a bend of the River Tweed, is the burial place of Sir Walter Scott himself and has some of the best Gothic church architecture in Scotland. Jedburgh and Kelso complete a circuit that can be done comfortably as part of your weekend in Galashiels, each with its own character and history.
All four are managed by Historic Environment Scotland and offer free entry to HES members. If you’re feeling active, you can walk sections of the Border Abbeys Way, which links all four Abbeys in a 107km circular loop.
Abbotsford, Melrose
If one figure threads through the Scottish Borders more persistently than any other, it is Sir Walter Scott. His novels shaped how the world understood Scotland, his poetry gave the landscape its romantic identity and the home he built for himself on the banks of the River Tweed – Abbotsford – is one of the most extraordinary historic houses in Scotland.
Scott purchased the farmland at Abbotsford in 1811 and spent the rest of his life transforming it into what he called his “romance in stone and lime.” The result is a Scottish Baronial mansion filled with an astonishing collection of historic artefacts, such as a lock of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s hair, a crucifix belonging to Mary Queen of Scots, and Rob Roy’s purse, alongside a library of 9,000 volumes and beautiful formal Regency gardens.
Located near Galashiels, Abbotsford is only a 10-minute drive from The Tapestry, with public bus connections available, too. It makes for the perfect afternoon activity after a morning immersing yourself in Scotland’s stories at The Tapestry.
Mary Queen of Scots Visitor Centre, Jedburgh
Panel 44 of The Great Tapestry tells the story of one of Scotland’s most dramatic and tragic monarchs. Mary Queen of Scots became Queen of Scotland at just six days old, was twice widowed before the age of 25, and was ultimately executed on the orders of her cousin Elizabeth I after 19 years of imprisonment.
The Mary Queen of Scots Visitor Centre in Jedburgh is housed in a 16th-century tower house where Mary herself stayed in 1566. The centre tells her story with depth and care: her marriage to Darnley, the murder of her secretary Rizzio, her enforced abdication, and the long captivity that followed. Mary’s rosary, brought with her to her execution, is among the items on display. Make sure to go for a wander around the gardens, home to some of Jedburgh’s famous pear trees, descendants of the original trees planted by Mary, Queen of Scots, herself during her 1566 stay in Jedburgh. You can also see a nod to the pear trees on the Tapestry panel.
The visitor centre is managed by Live Borders and sits in the heart of Jedburgh, making it a natural companion to the nearby Jedburgh Abbey ruins. It is free to visit but donations are greatly appreciated.
Traquair House, Innerleithen
Traquair House is Scotland’s oldest inhabited house, having been lived in for over 900 years and visited by 27 Scottish Kings and Queens.
The house’s origins lie in a royal hunting lodge built here from around 1107. Mary Queen of Scots visited in 1566 with her husband Lord Darnley and her baby son James, the future King James VI of Scotland and James I of England. In the King’s Room on the first floor, her state bed is still covered by a hand-stitched quilt said to have been worked by Mary and her ladies-in-waiting and at the foot of the bed sits a cradle used by the future king.
The Tapestry’s panels on Mary, Queen of Scots (Panel 44) and the Jacobite Risings (Panels 58 and 60) both find their living counterpart here. The Stuart family of Traquair were devout Catholics and committed Jacobites. Charles, the fourth Earl, remained loyal to James and became one of his band of supporters known as the Jacobites, who worked secretly to restore the Stuarts to the throne. His son welcomed Bonnie Prince Charlie to Traquair in 1745, and when the Prince left through the estate’s famous Bear Gates, the Earl promised they would never be opened again until the Stuarts returned to the throne.
They remain closed to this day.
Why not make a weekend of it?
Use your 2-Day Ticket to make a proper weekend of the Borders: spend the first morning with the panels, spend the afternoon at Bowhill or Traquair, and return to the gallery the following day.
July offer: Present your Tapestry ticket at Bowhill House in July to receive 10% off your entry.
The Tapestry tells our story. The Borderlands let you step inside it.