The Scottish Borders: A Complete Travel Guide

Trails and treks

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When people want to hike in Scotland, they pretty much always overlook this part of the nation.

But it’s actually a great place for tackling walks and wanders—many hikes are easy (and easy to access), you’re never far from a town or village, and you’ll never be surrounded by countless packs of other hikers.

Some of the best hikes in the Scottish borders include:

• The Eildon Hills: you can’t explore this part of Scotland without exploring the Eildon Hills, where you get three easy but varied summits (all very close to one another). On a hike here, you get great views of the surrounding areas, and you can start and end your walk in lovely lovely Melrose. If you can only tackle one hike, make it this one.
• The John Buchan Way: a 13.5-mile (22km) wander running from Peebles to Broughton. It’s named after a Scottish writer (he wrote ‘The 39 Steps’) who lived, worked, and vacationed in and around this area. The walk takes you between two endearing settlements and through moors and farms (and some sites related to the man).
• The Glentress Circuit: starting in the town of Peebles (from the Kingsmeadows car park), head east, and follow the Tweed River for an hour or so. After a while, you’ll head north, and leave the river behind. You’ll then wander uphill through forests and farmland, getting views of meadows, the river, and Peebles itself. The route runs in a satisfying and varied loop, and measures in at a total of just under 7.5 miles (around 12km).
• St. Mary’s Loch Loop: this loch is the prettiest and most interesting in the Scottish Borders… and you can walk around its entirety on an excellent and varied 5-hour stroll. You’ll want to stop every two seconds to take photographs. I massively recommend it.
• The River Tweed Circuit, from Melrose: if you’re looking for easy but pretty, this is your best option. Starting from Melrose Abbey, you walk right along the banks of the Tweed. You’ll then hit an old and impressive suspension bridge. Cross it, and hike back to where you started along the other side of the river. In total, it’s a fairly short 4 miles (6 km).

All these hikes are just the beginning—here’s a much more detailed list of all the walks in the Scottish Borders.

If you’re looking for a long-distance wander, I recommend St. Cuthbert’s Way, which runs from Melrose to the strange shores of Northumberland’s Holy Island.

Less than half of the wander is in official Scottish Borders territory, but it’s a beautiful and remote adventure… and it’s all centered around the life and history of St. Cuthbert, some Anglo-Saxon 7th-century monk.

The whole walk measures in at 62 miles (100km), and it’s usually a 4-day adventure.

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Another option is the uncatchily-named Borders Abbeys Way, which runs in pretty similar territory.

It measures in at 68 miles (109 km), and takes hikers on a circular route via the four abbeys at Kelso, Jedburgh, Melrose, and Dryburgh.

It’s not quite as varied as St. Cuthbert’s Way, but it offers more insights into history and heritage—and circular walks are always rewarding.

Your third option for a long-distance walk in the Scottish Borders is the Berwickshire Coastal Path, which runs along the coast for 30 miles (48 km).

It takes hikers from Berwick to Cockburnspath (or vice versa) and offers what I reckon are the best coastal views in southern Scotland.

Massively recommended—and if you’re ambitious and fit, you can get it all done in one (long) day.

For more walks and wanders in various parts of the nation, here are the 15 best hikes in Scotland. Don’t be surprised when you want to do them all.