Scottish Border region by train/car hire?

Hi, the stations in the borders are very few and fair between indeed.Car definatly best option
kelso is a lovely town,and of course theres the Buddist temple near Eskdalemuir.
There used to be a railway line"Waverly line", it got shut down but there is a "company town" or the remains of it up in the hills.There used to be no road to it, I think theres an info point now, if you feel like an adventure finding it.You might also vist the Keilder area, good trails with sculture round the res.

We have been in that area twice and are returning there in June. I do not think you can do it without a car. (You can pick one up at the airport; I am sure you could do it cheaper from another location if you are more concerned with $$$ than convenience.) After extensive research, I decided the best location was Melrose. It has a couple of good hotels and one of the abbeys is right in town. The other "must see" is Dryburgh Abbey. We are also visiting Lindisfarne (Holy Island) which is actually across the border in England, but still nearby. If you want to go there, you have to check the tide tables. We haven't been yet, but also intend to visit St. Abbs and either Tantallon or Dirleton Castles. Good web sites are undiscoveredscotland.com and secretscotland.com.

I think you need a car. I found that Melrose was a great location when I explore the Borders a number of years ago. The abbey's are wonderful. I visited the big ones: Dryburgh, Kelso, Melrose and Jedburgh. Also, Traquair House is fascinating, complete with a maze and gates that have been close since Bonnie Prince Charlie left Scotland. Scot's home Abbotsford was a good tour. I also went to Neidpath Castle, which is a ruin but was fun to see. I liked Floors Castle. It's near where Roxburgh Castle used to be which was one of the Royal Castle. I drove up from south of Carlisle and stopped off at Hermitage Castle which is very stark and dramatic. It was in a movie that had Vanessa Redgrave as Mary Queen of Scots. Mary, visited Hermitage Castle chasing after Bosworth, I believe. Also, remember that Hadrian's Wall might be a place to visit as well. It's a little far to get to the areas in Dumfriesshire, but the area north of Carlisle that is called the Debatable Lands is where a lot of the raiding went on. Look for the book The Steel Bonnets by Fraser to learn about this fascinating period. Hexham in England was the other side of the border and has a good museum.

Pam

I'm from that area and it would be virtually impossible by train. Even bus would be tedious so would highly recommend a car if possible.