You are invited to join The National Trust for Scotland Foundation USA for six nights in Scotland to explore the Scottish Borders -- an area of great scenic beauty and steeped in history. This tour will encompass visits to a selection of interesting and very different gardens as well as historic houses with outstanding collections of art. 

After an arrival night in Edinburgh at the Kimpton Charlotte Square Hotel (www.kimptoncharlottesquare.com), we will head to the Borders for four nights at Burts Hotel (www.burtshotel.co.uk) in the attractive town of Melrose.  We will end our tour with a final night back in Edinburgh at the Kimpton Charlotte Square, where we will celebrate with a farewell dinner.

Among highlights:

The Georgian House, an 18th-century town house in Edinburgh designed by acclaimed architect Robert Adam, and restored and furnished by the National Trust for Scotland, where we will kick off the tour with a welcome reception surrounded by stunning collections of period furniture, paintings, porcelain, silver and glass

Priorwood, a National Trust for Scotland property set in the ancient precinct of Melrose Abbey, where Colin Wren, the Trust’s Garden Design Landscape Manager for the region and an expert on apple trees, will provide insights relating to the varieties grown in the orchard

 Floors Castle, home of the Duke and Duchess of Roxburghe, where we will tour state rooms and visit a spectacular walled garden with a Victorian vegetable garden, as well as a millennium garden featuring intertwining initials of the 10th Duke and Duchess

Cherrytrees, a traditional country house garden set in the midst of the Borders hills, which has been tended and renovated by the current owners over the last 15 years to spectacular effect – a walled garden with interesting borders, excellent plantings outside the walls, a large Victorian conservatory, and an attractive woodland walk

Mertoun, home of the Duke and Duchess of Sutherland, which is an example of gardening on a large scale – a massive walled garden, superb trees in the woodland walk, and formal borders in front of the house

Carolside, a traditional and romantic garden set in a beautiful 18th-century landscape, considered to be one of the finest private gardens in Scotland and particularly well known for its historically important collection of roses

… and a talk by the Trust’s Stuart Maxwell about the Centenary Garden at Newhailes House, outside Edinburgh, which will be completed by 2031 when the National Trust for Scotland will celebrate 100 years of protecting Scotland’s nature, beauty and heritage

COVER IMAGE:   Abbotsford, home of Sir Walter Scott, where we will see a delightful

walled garden and formal gardens in front of the house.

This trip involves walking for extended periods, sometimes over uneven surfaces.

Paddy Scott followed a successful career in business and consulting by becoming chief executive of Scotland’s Gardens, a well-known charity that raises funds by opening private gardens to the public. He also was one of the founders of Discover Scotland’s Gardens, a business dedicated to marketing Scotland’s gardens to the world. For the last seven years, Paddy has been using his unparalleled knowledge of Scottish gardens to organize tours for garden enthusiasts from the United Kingdom, United States, and beyond.

A complete Itinerary may be downloaded from this site. 

This is an abridged version of what is also in the Participant Tour Agreement (PTA), which details the full Terms and Conditions, and the Release from Liability, for this tour.  The PTA is appended to the online Registration Form, and requires careful review and a signature by the person who completes the online tour registration.

Tour Cost

$4,350 per person, based on double occupancy

$5,540 per person, single occupancy ($1,190 supplement)

Registrations and Payment Schedule

· A deposit of $1,500 per person is required to reserve a spot on the tour. 

· Final balance will be invoiced and is due on or before July 1st, 2026. 

Payments by credit card incur a credit card fee (3.2% for Visa and MasterCard; 3.9% for American Express). Payments by ACH bank transfer or check are free. 

Cancellation Policy

When a participant cancels, the following schedule of per person charges is incurred:

Cancellations received prior to March 19th, 2025      $1000 *

Cancellations received on or after July 1st, 2026, and up until the day of departure:    Total tour cost **

NOTE: The Cancellation Fee will be waived if the tour fills and your space can be replaced by another sign-up.

* Cancellation fee covers administrative and operational costs and any penalties assessed by suppliers.

** Travel insurance is the best way to protect your tour investment. Information will be sent to you upon receipt of your Registration (including acknowledgement of this Agreement).

Tour registration is non-transferable. In the case of cancellation, substitutions are not allowed. 

After the tour has commenced, no refunds will be issued for any reason including, but not limited to, unused portions of the tour. If the tour is cancelled by American Ancestors or Travel Muse due to low enrollment, active registrants will receive a full refund of all tour payments.

* Please note: Registration cannot be accepted until the Terms and Conditions have been read, and the primary "buyer" of this Tour Package has submitted an e-signature at the end of this Registration Form indicating that he / she understands and agrees to the Terms as well as the Release From Liability Agreement.

 Updated: 11 November 2024

Travel Muse Inc., its owners, directors, officers, employees and affiliates (collectively “Travel Muse”) does not own or operate any entity which is to or does provide goods or services for your trip including, for example, ownership or control over hotels or other lodging facilities, airline, vessel, bus, van or other transportation companies, local ground operators, providers or organizers of optional or included excursions or equipment used thereon, food service or entertainment providers, etc. All such persons and entities are independent contractors. 

Travel Muse and NTS USA are not liable for any negligent or willful act or failure to act of any such person or entity, or that of any other third party. Without limitation, Travel Muse and NTS USA are not responsible for any injury, loss, or damage to person or property, death, delay or inconvenience in connection with the provision of any goods or services occasioned by or resulting from, but not limited to, acts of God, acts of government, force majeure, acts of war or civil unrest, insurrection or revolt, strikes or other labor activities, criminal or terrorist activities of any kind, or the threat thereof; overbooking or downgrading of accommodations; structural or other defective conditions in hotels or other lodging facilities; financial failure or other defaults by suppliers; mechanical or other failure of airplanes or other means of transportation or for any failure of any transportation mechanism to arrive or depart timely or safely; dangers associated with or bites from animals, pests or insects, marine life or vegetation of any sort; dangers incident to recreational activities such as swimming, kayaking, sailing, canoeing, rafting, hiking, bicycling, etc.; sanitation problems; food poisoning; lack of access to or quality of medical care; difficulty in evacuation in case of a medical or other emergency; illness, epidemics or the threat thereof or for any other cause beyond the direct control of Travel Muse and NTS USA. In addition, I release Travel Muse and NTS USA from simple negligence and assume all risk thereof. All such losses or expenses will have to be borne by the participant, as tour rates provide for arrangements only for the time stated. 

Travel Muse and NTS USA may take photographs or video of its trips, and participants grant Travel Muse and NTS USA permission to do so and for it to use same for promotional or commercial use without payment of any compensation to participant. 

Travel Muse and NTS USA reserve the right to change hotels or other features of the trip if it believes by doing so it will enhance the safety, comfort or enjoyment of the trip. Travel Muse and NTS USA reserve the right to cancel the tour prior to departure in which event the entire payment to it will be refunded with no further obligation or liability on its part. Travel Muse and NTS USA reserve the right to substitute accommodations, tour features, carriers or qualified tour staff; or to alter the itinerary of the program at any time when deemed appropriate or advisable without penalty or liability. Travel Muse and NTS USA, in their sole discretion, reserves the right to decline to accept or retain any participant whose health or actions, in the sole judgment of Travel Muse and NTS USA impedes the operation of the tour or the welfare or enjoyment of fellow participants. 

Travel Muse and NTS USA are not responsible or liable for loss, damage or theft of personal baggage and belongings, nor is it liable for personal injury, accident, or illness, however caused. We strongly suggest you purchase trip cancellation insurance to guard against various contingencies.

Participant Acknowledgement / Assumption of Risk

I am aware that travel such as I am undertaking involves activities, some in remote areas, with a risk of illness, injury or death which may be caused by forces of nature, animals, insects or flora, the negligence of Travel Muse, NTS USA or other persons and/or by entities either known or unknown, or of willful or criminal conduct of third parties. I am aware that medical services or facilities may not be readily available or accessible or consistent with standards in the United States during some or all of the time during which I am participating on the trip and that, when available, may not be of the quality which exists in the United States. In order to partake of the enjoyment and excitement of this trip, I am willing to accept the risks and uncertainty involved as being an integral part of my adventure. I hereby accept and assume full responsibility for any and all risks of illness, injury or death.

I acknowledge that I have voluntarily applied to participate on the trip designated on this application and that I have read the description of the trip as it appears in the promotional material relating to the trip, together with all information contained in this application. I am voluntarily participating in this trip with knowledge of the risks and hazards involved.

Binding Arbitration

I agree that any dispute concerning, relating or referring to this Agreement, the brochure or any other literature concerning my trip, or the trip itself, shall be resolved exclusively by binding arbitration pursuant to the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. §§1-16, either according to the then existing Commercial Rules of the American Arbitration Association (AAA) or pursuant to the Comprehensive Arbitration Rules & Procedures of the Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services, Inc. (JAMS). Such proceedings will be governed by substantive (but not procedural) New Mexico law and will take place in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The arbitrator and not any federal, state, or local court or agency shall have exclusive authority to resolve any dispute relating to the interpretation, applicability, enforceability, conscionability, or formation of this contract, including but not limited to any claim that all or any part of this contract is void or voidable.

Please understand that by agreeing to these terms and conditions, you (and we) are waiving our right to a trial by jury.

Knowing and Voluntary Execution

I have carefully read the Terms and Conditions; and the Release from Liability, Assumption of Risk, and Binding Arbitration Clause, and fully understand its contents. I am aware that this is a release of liability and a contract between myself and Travel Muse and/or its affiliated organizations and agree to it of my own free will.

 * Please note: Registration cannot be accepted until the Release from Liability Agreement has been read, and the primary "buyer" of this Tour Package has submitted an e-signature at the end of this Registration Form indicating that he / she understands and agrees to the Terms and the Release From Liability Agreement.