Overview
Visit a place that inspired Sir Walter Scott. Ancestors of the great Romantic novelist had called the tower home, and Scott learned the power of border ballads as a young infant living on the estate.
What to see and do
- Take in the completeness of the 15th-century laird’s residence – the four-storey tower house remains roofed and floored
- See the foundations of the outer hall and kitchen next to the tower
- Get up close to the substantial enclosure wall – a mighty defence with its walls 2m deep
- View the Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border exhibition – to see how Smailholm, Sir Walter Scott and his Minstrelsy are linked
- Try to spot Bamburgh Castle, over the border in Northumberland, from the battlements
- Call in at nearby Dryburgh Abbey, the final resting place of Sir Walter Scott
- Take our fun fact-finding quiz while exploring the tower or give our wordsearch a try.
