exploretheborders.com

Your guide to the brilliant borderlands

  • Welcome
  • Home
  • Towns
    • Hawick
    • Jedburgh
    • Selkirk
  • Active Borders
  • Historic Borders
  • Homes & Gardens
  • Coast & Countryside
  • Trips and Trails

Jim Clark Museum in the Scottish Borders

Friends of Monteath Mausoleum turn back time

Lock of Napoleon’s hair rediscovered at Abbotsford

Salmon fishing in the Scottish Borders

Sir Walter Scott’s historic home re-opens

August 25, 2020 By David Pike Leave a Comment

Sir Walter Scott’s historic home re-opens – Abbotsford, the historic home of Scottish Borders legend Sir Walter Scott, re-opened its doors on the famous author’s birthday, Saturday 15th August.

The historic house had been closed for nearly five months, since Friday 20th March, due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Changes have been introduced to comply with government guidance including timed entry tickets to enable social distancing and making the popular audio tour available for mobile phones.

Abbotsford’s Chief Executive, Giles Ingram, said: “We are delighted to be finally opening the door to Scott’s fantastic home. We have had a phased re- opening of the Abbotsford estate, starting with the walled gardens, the café, shop and five-star accommodation in July. It’s now wonderful to be able to complete the final phase and welcome visitors back to the historic house and chapel.

“We have put new measures in place to meet government guidance and to enable our visitors to have a relaxed, enjoyable visit. It’s a great day out for the family, with all areas now open.

“At the moment we can only open the house four days a week, but we hope we will be able to increase this. We are also planning to extend our season this year and keep the house open through December, with Christmas celebrations for visitors and the local community.”

Visitors are encouraged to book their time-slot for the house online before travelling to Abbotsford. They should also pre-book their table & food at Ochiltree’s café to avoid disappointment. Full details are available on the Abbotsford website: scottsabbotsford.com

The historic house and chapel will be open Thursday – Sunday, 10am – 4pm (last entry 3pm), every week, starting on Saturday August 15th.

Abbotsford’s Regency Walled Gardens, Ochiltree’ cafe, gift shop and Sir Walter Scott exhibition are open seven days a week, 10am- 4pm. Ochiltree’s café is also taking part in the ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme, every Monday – Wednesday during August.

Filed Under: Abbotsford, Lead Tagged With: Abbotsford, Scottish Borders, Sir Walter Scott

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

twenty − nine =

Welcome to the brilliant borderlands

Welcome to the brilliant borderlands – Before it was finally anchored on the English side of the border with Scotland, Berwick-upon-Tweed changed hands no less than 13 times. Some 530 or so years later, the good folk of Berwick still lean to the north – by a margin of 60-40% – if local polls are […]

Havens of stone in the Scottish Borders

Havens of stone in the Scottish Borders – The number of stone keeps and peel towers scattered across the Borders landscape are testament to the turbulent times that ebbed and flowed through the region for hundreds of years. One of the best preserved is Smailholm Tower in the Scottish Borders, a defiant landmark built on […]

Step into borders history

Step into borders history – If you enjoy history and exploring times gone by you will love the Borders. Northumberland and the Scottish Borders was the most fought over land in Britain as the crossed swords marking local battlefields on maps of the region will show. From the earliest times, when Agricola marched his Roman […]

Wallace stands tall in the Scottish Borders.

Wallace stands tall in the Scottish Borders – There may be as much Hollywood as there is historical fact in Mel Gibson’s ‘Braveheart’ but it does nothing to diminish the stature of Scotland’s national hero, Sir William Wallace. To the English he was an outlaw and murderer while in Scotland he is credited with laying […]

Borderlines

Scottish Borders on track for new opportunities

Scottish Borders on track for new opportunities – The Campaign for Borders Rail has received a top level boost following a meeting with Scotland Office minister, Iain Stewart MP. He confirmed the UK Government’s support for the project and gave a commitment to drive the plans forward with his ministerial colleagues. It was revealed that […]

Scottish Borders push for a national park

Scottish Borders push for a national park – A Borders National Park could provide an important post-Covid boost for the Scottish Borders region. The campaign to create seven national parks across Scotland – including one in the Borders – is expected to take on a new urgency now that a return to normality is in […]

Recent Posts

  • Jim Clark Museum in the Scottish Borders
  • A five star cast for the Tweed Valley Hotel
  • Friends of Monteath Mausoleum turn back time
  • Sir Walter Scott’s historic home re-opens
  • Salmon fishing in the Scottish Borders
  • Pirn House a welcome stop for first class food
  • Welcome to the brilliant borderlands
  • Havens of stone in the Scottish Borders
  • Step into borders history
  • Wallace stands tall in the Scottish Borders.
  • Melrose – A small town with a big history
  • The Tweed – recreation, romance and history

Copyright © 2021 · Explore The Borders - Privacy Policy