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Selkirk · House
Bowhill House and Country Estate
Bowhill is best as an outdoor play-and-walk day. The woodland adventure playground, way-marked trails and café give families a flexible half-day or longer outing. The Victorian Home is a separate selected-date tour, so check the right Bowhill calendar before you travel: the grounds, house and estate walks do not follow the same pattern.
- Ages
- Toddlers to teens; choose play and walks to suit
- Cost
- Paid grounds; under-3s free; events cost extra
- Weather
- Mostly outdoors
- Allow
- Half a day, longer for more walking
Our family take
A good family plan is to let children use the woodland playground, choose a walk that matches everyone's legs, and take a break at the café. Keep the house tour as an optional extra when public dates are available.
- Age fit. Toddlers and preschoolers can get started in the playground and on shorter walks; older children can add the zip-wires, longer routes and house stories.
- Not ideal for. A guaranteed house-interior visit, a fully covered rainy-day plan, or a day when every path and play surface needs to be easy with a pram.
- Main watch-out. Grounds, events, the Victorian Home and estate walks each have their own arrangements. October 2026 grounds dates are separately booked Halloween events, and the published public house-tour season has finished.
The practical details
Plan your visit
- Opening pattern
- Grounds and playground open on selected spring and autumn dates, and daily in June–August. October 2026 dates are Halloween event days with separate tickets; times and charges vary. Public Victorian Home tours have finished for the published 2026 season. Estate walks from General's Bridge are a separate year-round option. Check the right calendar before travelling.
- Tickets
- Grounds & Adventure Playground: adults £8, children £6, under 3s free. The separate Victorian Home tour costs £17 for adults and £8.50 for children; under 3s are free. Event-day charges vary, so check current prices before booking.
- Entry type
- The grounds and playground are ticketed; event days and Victorian Home tours use separate arrangements. Estate walks are a different, year-round plan from General's Bridge.
- Address
- Bowhill House, Selkirk, Scottish Borders TD7 5ET.
- Parking and access
- General's Bridge costs £3 per car and serves the Lady's Walk and Duchess' Drive; no overnight parking. Check car-park hours before an early or late walk because Bowhill's pages disagree. Main roads and the courtyard are tarmac, but the garden is gravel and the playground has rough wood chippings.
- Visit length
- Allow half a day for the playground, café and a short walk. Add longer routes or a Victorian Home tour for a fuller day.
ParkingCafé or restaurantGift shopToiletsAdventure PlaygroundWay-marked Walks
4 October 2026
Visit official websiteA little more detail
Make it work for your family
Playground and walks
The woodland adventure playground is the clearest family hook. Children have two 30-metre zip-wires, two embankment slides, a rope bridge, a large wooden fort, swings and musical instruments to choose from. The estate walks make up the second half of the visit.
Start with the playground, take a break at the café, then choose one shorter route. Bowhill suggests the 2-mile Lochs Walk for a shorter walk; Bell O' The Woods is 1.5 miles. Save the 3-mile Lady's Walk or 7-mile Duchess' Drive for a day when everyone is happy with more walking.
Children need an accompanying adult aged 18 or over in the playground. Choose equipment to suit your child's ability and keep them in sight.
- Best for
- Families wanting a half-day of outdoor play and estate walks without making the house the main event.
Dates, house tours and booking
Choose the calendar for the visit you want: grounds and playground, a Victorian Home tour, or estate walks from General's Bridge. The 2026 grounds calendar lists Halloween events on 10–19, 24–25 and 30–31 October. These need separate event tickets, with times and charges that can differ from an ordinary grounds day.
Book day tickets online before travelling. Same-day booking is possible if spaces remain, but do not rely on walk-up entry. Bowhill's 28 September 2026 notice reports problems with some online card payments; if checkout fails, it offers telephone booking on 01750 22204.
- House tour status
- The Victorian Home tour covers nine rooms. Its published 2026 public season has finished, but private groups are welcome year-round by arrangement. Bowhill lists the main public-room tour as returning in 2027; check for confirmed dates before making it the reason for your trip.
- If plans change
- Bowhill’s FAQ says paid tickets cannot be refunded, exchanged or transferred if you cancel. Ask Bowhill about exceptional circumstances rather than assuming a change is available.
Buggies, access and family facilities
Plan for weather to affect how much of the playground and estate you use. The café and courtyard give some shelter, but they are not a dependable all-day rainy-day fallback.
Bowhill says there are no buses to the site; Galashiels station is five miles away. The Old Kitchen Café opens 10am–4pm when the grounds are open, and courtyard toilets open 10am–5pm on those days. Do not count on either for an out-of-season estate walk. Check ahead if you need baby changing.
There are picnic benches, but barbecues are not permitted. Soft play is listed as a paid extra; check its current arrangements before relying on it as a wet-weather backup.
- Access
- Assistance dogs are welcome, and one wheelchair can be requested in advance. The Old Chapel has four narrow steps; ask which rooms are accessible on the tour you book. The Lochs Walk is partly tarmac but has a short, steep hill on the return. Ask ahead if you need a dependable buggy or wheelchair route.
Compare other estate days
Floors Castle is the stronger comparison if you want a more castle-and-gardens-led Borders day. Drumlanrig is another estate-and-play option, but it is farther into Dumfries and Galloway. Treat it as a separate route choice rather than an easy same-day add-on.
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