Top Tours & Guides in the South of Scotland

Make the most of your holiday in the South of Scotland by tapping into the expertise of our fantastic local guides. With unique insight into the people and region, each of our guides has their own speciality and expertise. Perhaps you’d like to explore the food of the region? Maybe you want a classic tour guide who really knows the stories and the histories of the towns and villages. Or perhaps you want your tour on two wheels?

Here are some of our favourites to help you make amazing memories of your time exploring the South of Scotland. Check out all our Tours and Experiences for even more inspiration.

Borderlands Food Tours – Great Days Out Tasting Local Food

Location: Allanton, Scottish Borders

Logistics and Planning: Pick-ups and drop-offs available at railway stations, with tours for small groups, couples and individuals

Having run the Allanton Inn for over 14 years, Katrina and William know their food and where to find the best of it in the Scottish Borders and Northumberland. Now they have channelled their expertise into taking visitors on journeys filled with tasty discoveries! Whether you join them a walking tour, for a private picnic, or embark on a full-day tour of the region’s coastal delights, expect excellent local produce and stories to add even more flavour to your exploration.

Katrina shares one of her favourite local tales:

There is so much rich, unexpected culinary heritage woven right into the local landscape of the South of Scotland. Few drinks are as closely associated with Britain as tea, and the story of how it became the nation’s favourite beverage has remarkable connections to our base in Berwickshire and the surrounding region.

The story begins just two miles from Allanton in the small village of Kelloe, where Robert Fortune was born in 1812. A talented botanist, plant hunter, and adventurer, Fortune changed the course of tea history. After completing his apprenticeship on the Blackadder Estate in Allanton, he honed his skills at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh before moving to London in 1840. In 1843, he embarked on a daring expedition to southern China, disguising himself as a Chinese merchant to venture beyond restricted treaty ports, collect rare plants, and study Chinese horticulture.

Fortune’s most famous achievement came in 1848, when the British East India Company commissioned him to smuggle tea plants, seeds, and skilled tea workers out of China to establish India’s tea industry; forever transforming the global tea trade. While Fortune secured Britain’s future supply, tea was already a heavily taxed, highly prized commodity closer to home. Just ten miles from Allanton stands Gunsgreen House in Eyemouth. Built in 1753 for merchant and smuggler John Nisbet, the house concealed a secret life behind its elegant façade. At a time when tea was taxed at an astonishing 119 percent, Nisbet used hidden cellars leading to the sea and a clever concealed “tea chute” within the walls to hide contraband from customs officers.

TVB Tours – Local History Told With Panache!

Location: Innerleithen

Logistics and Planning: Options for low-carbon walking and public transport tours, alongside more traditional driver guided options with pick-up on your doorstep

The Tweed Valley Blogger, aka Stewart Wilson, offers historical insight into the landscapes, ruins, and castles of the Tweed Valley in the Scottish Borders and further afield. Sign up for one of his tours and expect to be regaled with tales of high dudgeon, daring escapes, raiders and reivers, and those who inhabited this landscape years ago.

Stewart is a true master in bringing to life the local stories and characters that have shaped the region over centuries. Whether he regales you with tales by the fireside or you join him on one of his local tours to walk through history, you can be certain to hear stories you’ve never heard anywhere else before!

When asked about his favourite place to share with visitors, Stewart highlights Melrose Abbey:

It’s a masterpiece of medieval gothic architecture, built across stages and centuries and one of the most evocative historic sites in Scotland, let alone the Borders. It has a real blend of beauty and storytelling potential, and it is a perfect place to tell the whole sweep of civilisation in the Tweed Valley.

Visitors are often drawn to the heart of Robert the Bruce or the famous bagpipe playing pig gargoyle, but I encourage you to go a little deeper and get to understand why the monks chose this place, and the impact they had on the land and people of the Borders, an impact which echoes in Melrose today. It’s an essential stop for anyone exploring the Scottish Borders.

Keep an eye out for some of Stewart’s narrated walks and appearances at events right across the Tweed Valley. A definite must for immersing yourself in local history! From half day tours to full days of exploring your ancestral lands, you will leave with an appreciation for the region’s historic landscapes, sights and communities.

Dumfries Tours – Ancestral Explorations and Local History

Location: Dumfries

Logistics and Planning: Multi-day driver guiding available for families and small groups

Are you looking to explore with a tour guide that can dig down into your ancestral history? Perhaps you want to walk in the footsteps of some of the region’s most famous clans and characters like Robert Burns? Dumfries Tours owner Mark can create a bespoke tour you won’t forget! His knowledge of Scottish and local history is profound and he has an abundance of possible tours to choose from, or tailor make your own. You may even find yourself walking the farms and towns your ancestors emigrated from.

Or perhaps it is some of the region’s hidden history and secret corners you’re after? Using his intimate local knowledge, Mark also guides guests to lesser-known places where they are often the only people there. The iconic sights of course feature, too, including the mighty Caerlaverock (the only triangular castle in the UK) and Dundrennan Abbey (where Mary Queen of Scots spent her final night on Scottish soil before setting sail across the Solway Firth to England).

About his passion for guiding, Mark says:

I absolutely love leading ancestral-themed tours for international guests. Sometimes it is simply enough to wander around the parishes where their ancestors lived and worked. But the real highlight is when we can actually visit the family member’s headstone. This is really emotional and gives people a real sense of belonging.

Outside of history, Mark highlights one of his favourite locations: the Wigtownshire coast.

I really like spending time in Portpatrick on the Wigtownshire coast. With access to the Rhins of Galloway and the Southern Upland Way, it is a walker’s paradise. After a day of walking, it’s lovely to relax with a pint at one of the waterfront pubs and watch the sun go down.

In fact, those wanting a more active approach to their guided tour can work with Mark to include cycling and walking in their itinerary. It’s the perfect way to slow down and truly immerse yourself in the historic landscapes.

Scottish Clans and Castles – Heritage, Stately Homes and a Touch of Hollywood Glamour

Location: Duns

Logistics and Planning: Multi-day driver guiding and tailored tours for families and small groups

The team behind Scottish Clans and Castles have their specialty area in their name! Those with an interest in Scotland’s grand estates and clan links will love a tour with owner Diana and her team of expert guides. Their focus is on deeply immersive experiences, drawing on their personal connections to clan representatives. This means their bespoke tours can take you right across the country with the opportunity to even stay in a castle on request. Talk about a dream holiday!

They’re also experts on all things Outlander. For over twenty years – long before the TV series debuted – Scottish Clans and Castles immersed fans in the history behind the novels and filming locations. This now also stretches to their home region in the South of Scotland, which they showcase with great pride.

Diana shares that one of their absolute favourite sites in the area is Dryburgh Abbey:

It is one of the great medieval abbeys founded in the Borders more than 900 years ago, along with Kelso, Melrose and Jedburgh. But Dryburgh is the prettiest, its ruined cloister and nave sited in a secluded bend of the River Tweed among a beautiful collection of mature trees from around the world. They were mostly planted by the antiquarian David Erskine, 11th Earl of Buchan, who bought the abbey in the 19th century to protect the old buildings. But one tree is much older – a yew that was probably planted by the monks when the abbey was founded in 1150. Erskine was a friend of the novelist Walter Scott and they are both buried in the Abbey, as is another local, Douglas Haig of WWI / poppy fame.

Drummond Scottish Tours – Literary History and a Love for Local Stories

Location: Kelso

Logistics and Planning: One or multi-day driver guiding and tailored tours, with pick-up on your doorstep

With expertise in guiding right across Scotland and the north of England, the husband and wife duo behind Drummond Scottish Tours know what makes a Scottish holiday unforgettable. Visitors can choose from ready-made itineraries or bespoke options covering the country’s highlights as well as some of it’s lesser known locations.

But it is their home, Kelso and the Scottish Borders, that has their heart and holds some of their favourite stories. Here, they offer specialised journeys, including their dedicated In the Footsteps of Sir Walter Scott tour. Covering his local connections and favourite places, it ties in beautifully with the extensive literary heritage of the South of Scotland.

Morven and William explain:

Sir Walter Scott was renowned for his love of the Borders, spending much of his childhood here and building the magnificent Abbotsford House in the early 19th century. On the day of Sir Walter’s funeral, September 26th, 1832, with the extremely well-attended procession winding its way through the Melrose area, it stopped in a very special place dear to the great man.

Rather than a planned break in the journey though, this was a stop at the behest of Sir Walter’s beloved horses. Pulling his hearse carriage, they paused, and so everyone paused, at the place now known as ‘Scott’s View’. This not only allowed Sir Walter to have one last visit to his favourite viewpoint of the Eildon Hills and River Tweed, but created a poignant moment to live forever in Borders folklore.

Armstrong Tours – History off the Beaten Path

Location: Langholm

Logistics and Planning: One or multi-day driver guiding and tailored tours, with accessible options available

In the South of Scotland, the name Armstrong immediately evokes some of the region’s most unique stories. In the past, the infamous local reiver (or raider) Johnny Armstrong would have kept many a secret but tour guide Adam – an Armstrong himself – is here to reveal them all.

So join in for a tour through local history! With an expert focus on the borderlands, Adam delights in taking visitors to the hidden historical gems. From stone circles and ancient kirks, to caves inhabited by saints, and towers visited by astronauts. These places tell stories you’d never expect.

Of course, Armstrong country can take centre stage. Stops can include Hermitage Castle, the guardhouse of the bloodiest valley in Britain, and the town of Langholm. Guide Adam especially likes to share the clan motto: Invictus Maneo – I remain unvanquished. A fitting tribute to a name that still lingers among these landscapes.

When thinking about his favourite places to show visitors, Adam says:

It’s a fantastic experience to walk in the footsteps of legendary Border Reivers such as Johnnie Armstrong of Gilnockie and Kinmont Willie Armstrong, and discover the stories, strongholds and landscapes that shaped their lives.

One of our most treasured destinations is Traquair House, Scotland’s oldest inhabited house and a personal favourite of Armstrong Tours. Rich in history, character and royal connections, it is an unforgettable part of any journey through the Borders.

If you have accessibility issues, Armstrong Tours also cater for people with limited mobility and those who are visually impaired – guide dogs welcome! The vehicle is suitable to transport a collapsible wheelchair and can access disabled parking spots for people who have difficulties.

Solway Tours – Award-winning Stories of People and Places

Location: Dumfries

Logistics and Planning: Complete door to door service for families and small groups

History buffs will love heading on a tour of the South of Scotland and beyond with award-winning Solway Tours. Ex history teachers Mark and Lesley know how to unearth unique stories and have established themselves in particular as experts on genealogy and wartime history.

You may find yourself tracing the remnants of World War II history on the Machars coastline, or unearthing the religious history of the south west’s ancient landscapes. Mark and Lesley’s deep knowledge and appreciation for local stories brings to life not only the stories of each place but the individual characters who shaped them.

Bespoke itineraries can range from walking in the footsteps of poet Robert Burns to the local heroes and communities that underpinned Britain’s efforts during the world wars.

Bite-sized tours

Just got a few hours to spare but still want to feel you’ve connected with the people and locale? Never fear, there are plenty of options. Choose from exploring the region’s textile heritage to whisky and gin tastings plus farm tours and delving into past of Scotland’s National Bard, Robert Burns.

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