Trimontium Fort Site Walks

Walk in the footsteps of legions with our guided Roman fort site tours!

We run a series of guided walking tours of the Trimontium fort site near Newstead from April to October, beginning at our museum in central Melrose. Our experienced volunteer guides will tell of episodes from the Roman occupation of the Scottish Borders, take you key points of interest, and help you to imagine what the now-quiet fort site would have been like in its heyday.

Along the way, you’ll discover:

• The site of the most northerly confirmed amphitheatre in the Roman Empire
• Local Iron Age settlements and their relationship with the sprawling fort of Trimontium
• The layout, functions, and people of the fort, and how it ‘vanished’ over the past 2,000 years
• A reconstructed Roman watchtower with views across the fort site and Eildon Hills
• How ongoing archaeology continues to reveal the fort’s secrets

We offer a full Trimontium fort walk, as well as a shorter version for those with limited time. The full Trimontium walk covers five miles of moderate terrain (paths and fields), passing by Melrose Abbey and the historic village of Newstead, before heading out to the fort site and finishing back in Melrose.

You can meet the shorter walk at Newstead, opposite the entrance to the fort site at the top of Newstead Village, at the bus stop. The short walk lasts 1.5 hours and ends back in Newstead.

Other walks around Melrose town and Old Melrose

We also run the Melrose town guided walk, which explores the local town via a series of waymarked points of interest. This walk takes approximately 2 hours and is via paths around the town. Booking only.

You can join guided walks to Old Melrose run by the Melrose Historical Society by emailing omwalks@gmail.com. Old Melrose was a special place for the indigenous population, was known to the Romans at Trimontium, and was later the site of a Celtic Abbey (a Monk’s cell). More information about the Old Melrose walk and other local walks can be found on the Melrose Paths website.

All future available walks (& other events) are advertised on our events page.

Our 2025 Walks Programme runs from April to October.