Scottish Borders: abbeys along the Tweed
Rosslyn’s carved chapel, the old house at Traquair, the great ruined abbeys of Melrose and Jedburgh and Walter Scott’s favourite view.
- Distance
- 123 km (76 mi)
- Driving
- 1 h 42 min
- Suggested days
- 3
- Stops
- 8
- Countries
- United Kingdom
- Updated
- June 27, 2026
At a glance: 3-day road trip of about 123 km (76 mi) with 8 stops, from Edinburgh to Jedburgh Abbey. About 1 h 42 min of driving in total.
Route description
Just south of Edinburgh, Rosslyn Chapel is famous for the intricate carvings that cover its interior. Then take the A703 over the moors to Peebles, a pleasant town on the Tweed with a good choice of places to eat.
Follow the A72 down the Tweed valley to Traquair House, lived in for centuries, and on through Innerleithen and Galashiels. Near Melrose, Abbotsford was Walter Scott’s home; in the town, the ruins of Melrose Abbey are decorated with carved saints and gargoyles.
Take the B6356 via Dryburgh, where Scott is buried in the abbey ruins, to Scott’s View, looking across a bend of the Tweed to the Eildon Hills. Continue east to Kelso, with its wide cobbled square, a ruined abbey and the grand Floors Castle beside the river.
Finish at Jedburgh, where the abbey church still stands almost complete but roofless in the town centre. From here the A68 climbs to the English border at Carter Bar, so the route pairs well with a trip to Hadrian’s Wall or the Northumberland coast.
Stop-by-stop itinerary
In driving order. Distances are estimates between consecutive stops.
- 1Start
Edinburgh
United Kingdom - 214 km
Rosslyn Chapel
HistoryRoslin, United KingdomA 15th-century chapel covered inside with elaborate stone carvings, just south of Edinburgh. Tickets are timed in busy months.
- 328 km
Peebles
United Kingdom - 411 km
Traquair House
HistoryInnerleithen, United KingdomA fortified country house often described as the oldest inhabited house in Scotland, with a maze in the grounds.
- 527 km
Melrose Abbey
HistoryMelrose, United KingdomThe richly carved ruins of a Cistercian abbey where the heart of Robert the Bruce is said to be buried.
- 65 km
Scott’s View
ViewsBemersyde, United KingdomSir Walter Scott’s favourite view, over a loop of the Tweed to the three summits of the Eildon Hills. There is a small layby on the B6356.
- 717 km
Kelso
United Kingdom - 819 km
Jedburgh Abbey
HistoryJedburgh, United KingdomThe roofless but nearly complete church of a 12th-century abbey in the centre of Jedburgh, on the A68 towards England.
