As I’d been to Edinburgh before a lot of my stay there was using the city as a base and going on day trips by train. The one I was most excited about and proved to be excellent was Abbotsford, the home author Walter Scott had built in 1811. I caught the train from Edinburgh Waverley Station to Tweedbank Station which took around one hour. One useful thing the house provides is free transport from the train station to the house. It’s volunteer lead so isn’t always available – you can find times and a phone number to see if it’s happening on the day you’re traveling on the house website – but the day I travelled it was waiting just outside the station, and I was the only passenger! If it isn’t there the house is a 20 minute walk away that is described on the house website, or you can get a local bus. There is also of course a car park at the house if you’re driving.
