Kelso

Kelso's accommodation runs from a five-star country estate with its own golf course and spa to simple, well-run guest houses just off the Square, reflecting the town's dual role as a working Borders market centre and a genuine tourist destination. At the top end, a handful of properties set in their own grounds a few miles outside town offer the kind of country house luxury associated with a special occasion, including championship golf, extensive spa facilities and dining rooms that draw guests from well beyond the immediate area, while the town centre itself holds a smaller number of longer-established hotels built around historic buildings on the Square or Bridge Street.

The middle ground is covered by a group of traditional coaching inns and hotels within a short walk of the Square, several of them dating from the eighteenth century when Kelso was an important stop on the coaching routes between Edinburgh and Newcastle. These properties combine straightforward, comfortable rooms with lively bars and restaurants that double as some of the town's better places to eat, and suit visitors who want to be able to walk everywhere without needing a car once they arrive.

Kelso's guest houses and B&Bs, several in handsome Georgian townhouses close to the river, tend to offer the best value and the most personal welcome, often run by owners with deep local knowledge of fishing, walking and the surrounding estates. A short distance further out, a handful of restaurants with rooms in nearby villages provide an alternative base for anyone prioritising a serious dinner over walking distance to the Square, while still keeping Kelso itself within easy reach for a day of sightseeing.

Kelso's attractions range from grand estates to quiet riverside walks, most of them within walking distance of the square or a short drive out of town.

• Floors Castle is the largest inhabited castle in Scotland and the family seat of the Duke of Roxburghe, with opulent state rooms, a walled garden and extensive parkland open to visitors through the summer season.
• Kelso Abbey, founded in 1128 by Kelso for Tironensian monks, survives as substantial ruins in the town centre and was once the grandest of the four great Border abbeys before being reduced by centuries of cross-border conflict.
• Mellerstain House and Gardens, a few miles north-west of town, is a Georgian mansion designed by William and Robert Adam, with formal terraced gardens and parkland open from spring to early autumn.
• Smailholm Tower, a compact 15th-century peel tower with links to Sir Walter Scott, stands on a rocky outcrop with views said to stretch as far as Bamburgh on a clear day.
• Kelso Racecourse, one of Scotland's principal National Hunt tracks, hosts jump racing through the autumn and winter and sits within walking distance of the town centre.
• The Borders Abbeys Way, a 65-mile circular walking route, links Kelso with the other three great Border abbey towns of Melrose, Jedburgh and Dryburgh, and can be picked up for a short stretch or walked in full.
• Salmon fishing on the River Tweed, arranged through local ghillies and the tourist information centre, gives visitors access to some of Europe's most storied salmon water, including beats close to the Junction Pool.
• Shedden Park, a pleasant riverside public park a short walk from the square, has tennis courts, a putting green and space for a picnic beside the Tweed.

Kelso's food scene reflects its position in prime farming and fishing country, with beef, lamb and game from Border estates and salmon from the Tweed appearing on menus across the town. Border Tart, a rich pastry filled with dried fruit, currants and almonds, is a local speciality worth seeking out from the town's bakeries, alongside shortbread and other traditional baking.

The Cobbles Bistro and Oscar's are among the better-regarded places to eat in the town centre, serving modern Scottish dishes built around local produce, while the Cross Keys Hotel and Queen's Head Hotel both run restaurants and bars open to non-residents. A monthly farmers' market brings producers from across the Borders into the square, selling meat, cheese, baking and preserves alongside the town's permanent butchers and greengrocers.

For a special meal, several restaurants with rooms in the surrounding villages, including Swinton and the Roxburghe estate at Heiton, draw diners out from Kelso itself, and the wider Borders region has a growing number of small gin and whisky producers whose spirits turn up behind the bar in the town's pubs.

Camping around Kelso means choosing between a well-appointed holiday park within walking distance of the town and smaller, simpler touring sites in the surrounding villages, most of them within 10 miles of the Square. The closest option sits on the banks of the Teviot on the edge of Kelso itself, combining static lodges and caravans with riverside walks and a children's play area, making it a practical, low-effort base for visitors who still want to be able to walk into town for dinner or the Tuesday market.

Further out, quieter touring parks in villages such as Town Yetholm and Coldstream offer a more traditional camping experience geared toward tents, touring caravans and motorhomes rather than static holiday homes. These smaller sites tend to have a more informal, dog-friendly atmosphere, and their positions close to the Cheviot Hills and the River Tweed suit walkers tackling the Pennine Way or St Cuthbert's Way, or anglers wanting to be close to a beat first thing in the morning.

None of the sites within easy reach of Kelso are large, corporate holiday parks, and facilities vary accordingly: electric hookup is widely available, but shops, swimming pools and extensive play areas are the exception rather than the rule. What the area's campsites share is a quiet, rural setting in genuine Borders farming and river country, within a short drive of Kelso's shops, pubs and attractions, and well placed for day trips to Floors Castle, the Abbey towns and the Cheviot Hills along the English border.