Available languages
9 hours
Mobile ticket
* Entrance to Alnwick Castle included in tour price (upgrade to include Gardens can be purchased on arrival).
Explore the stunning scenery of the Scottish Borders on this full-day tour of Kelso, Alnwick Castle and Berwick. Head to the pretty border town of Kelso and soak up the atmosphere in the large market square. Visit the ruins of Kelso Abbey, then cross the border and travel on to Alnwick Castle, the setting for Hogwarts Academy in the Harry Potter movie series. Continue onward along the Northumberland coast to the walled town of Berwick-upon-Tweed.
Public transportation options are available nearby
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Min. age 5 years old. We do not accept children under the age of 5 years.
Check in closes 15 minutes prior to departure
In order to retain the integrity of the tour and try to ensure that all our customers have the best possible experience, we do cap bookings from any one party to 8 passengers.
Alnwick Castle - We reserve tickets for you (included in tour price ). Upgrade to include Gardens available on arrival.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Top range 16-seat Mercedes mini-coach
Admission fee: Alnwick Castle - included in tour price
The stories and services of an English-speaking driver-guide
Small Group Tour (maximum 16 passengers)
Food and drinks
Gratuities
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Admission Fees: unless specified.
Kelso Abbey
A ruined abbey, a stunning, cobbled town square, and beautiful boutique shops.
Alnwick Castle
*Entrance to Alnwick Castle included in tour price (upgrade to Gardens ticket available on arrival). This gorgeous castle was used as a set for both Harry Potter and Downton Abbey.
297 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Marcella P,
Sep 25, 2025
- Viator
First, Rabbies is a wonderful tour company, I highly recommend them. The 16 pax coaches are the way to go - more intimate but also the ease of getting on and off the coach makes it worth it. As far as this tour, it was just okay. It honestly is not something I would recommend. The borders they referencing can be skipped, I feel like they were unnecessary filler as there wasn't anything to see. Our first stop was a small town called Kelso with no personality and I feel like we stopped just to give cafe's some business. There is a chapel there that is takes 5 minutes to take pictures. Nothing to see. The next stop is Alnwick Castle and is in a cute village. We had almost 3 hours here, in my opinion too long. Because of stopping at the village prior we were late by 10 minutes to the guided tours (free) and the next one's were after we left. So you were left to wander on your own. The castle was nice, about and hour was plenty for the inside but honestly it is geared towards young fans of Harry Potter as they had things to do like "learn to ride a broom stick". You had to pay extra to go to the gardens - don't do it. An absolute waste and not very pretty at all. The most fascinating thing here was all the sheep. I wandered those for about 15 minutes. That left a good 1.5 hours to kill so I went into town. Cute normal village. Gives you time to eat lunch but for those of us that don't really want to do that it was alot of twiddling our thumbs. Because we had a bit of extra time our driver took us over to Bamburgh Castle as it was on the way back. Now this is something they should add to the stop. Take away the small villages and give us time to there. We had 15 minutes to take pictures but this would have been a great place to go see. I asked our driver why we didn't have this as part of the tour and he said because it takes time -- but again take away all the small silly unnecessary stops and we would have had time. On the way back we stopped again at another border town. The exciting thing here was petting a local cat - seriously there was nothing to do or see (I mean there was a ruin of a castle that is now just something that looks like a chimney sticking out of the ground that you cannot even get close to). All in all it was a long day on the bus, alot of wasted time and the castle was just okay. With so many other castles out there skip this one unless you are running out of things to do.
Thomas H,
Sep 20, 2025
- Viator
Penny made the trip fun. She was knowledgeable, friendly and full of information. Even though it rained a bit, it was a fun day.
Sarah S,
Sep 8, 2025
- Viator
A wonderful day out, including beautiful Alnwick castle. Our guide Nathan was the best-- so many stories, knowledge of history, and a great sense of humor.
Dawn C,
Aug 22, 2025
- Viator
Our tour guide, Sean, was funny, informative, and very personable. We had a great time, had lots to see, and he kept the drive time occupied with fun facts, a bit of history, and humor. The Castle visits were spectacular.
Erin B,
Jul 27, 2025
- Viator
Great day with Penny as our guide! We loved visiting the castle and town, it’s been my favorite day in Scotland so far! Penny gave such good information about different areas we drove through without overloading us. 10/10, would recommend!
Operated by Rabbies Trail Burners