The Borders towns of Selkirk, Hawick, Galashiels, Peebles, Jedburgh, Kelso and Melrose are rich in culture and history.

A packed annual programme of events includes exciting festivals, the best visiting artists and spectacular showcases of local organisations.

One of the biggest cultural highlights is the Borders Heritage Festival, which runs from September 5 to 30, featuring walks, talks, theatre and more. Reflecting the area’s diverse past, it includes a host of family friendly events – where else can you walk in the footsteps of the Romans, learn to be a medieval knight and make yourself a 16th century spy map at the same time?

Each town is different and has much to discover, and the area as a whole is a fascinating, diverse place to visit. Doors Open Day, on September 19, will allow locals and visitors to explore what lies behind the facades of some of the area’s most interesting buildings.

And music, arts and culture are high on the agenda over the next few months – here is a look at some of what’s happening across the Border towns.

Selkirk: Maintaining the standard

Whatever else you may find in Selkirk, one of the most surprising discoveries has to be Scotland’s most unusual theatre venue.

Bowhill Little Theatre was once the game larder on Bowhill estate – now it’s a modern drama hub which plays host to an impressive mix of talented touring theatre companies. Forthcoming highlights include Northumberland Theatre Company’s A Wife or The Gallows and Other Telling Tales; and Rapture Theatre Company’s The Last Yankee, to mark the centenary of Arthur Miller.

Other cultural and historical highlights in Selkirk include Halliwell’s House Museum, which tells the story of the burgh through the centuries, and the Sir Walter Scott Courtroom. The former is situated in an old close, one of the town’s typically narrow, cobbled lanes which were originally gas-lit and packed with different trades, from weavers and ironmongers to coopers and shoemakers.

The courtroom commemorates one of the Borders’ famous sons, author Sir Walter Scott, who presided as sheriff in the early 1800s. His impressive home, Abbotsford, lies halfway between Melrose and Galashiels.

Peebles: For forest fun

From its beautiful riverside walks to its stunning scenery, Peebles is one of the prettiest Border towns to visit and there is plenty to see and do this summer and autumn.

The Peebles Arts Festival (August 28-31) brings together a colourful, creative assortment of actors, singers, writers, weavers, dancers, jugglers and more, with highlights including the Mutxiko Dance troupe from the French Basque town of Hendaye, high street busking and a
festival ceilidh.

Look out too for the annual Art Trail, featuring exhibitions and plenty of hands-on workshops. Peebles is the hub for the Tweed Valley Forest Festival (October 23 – November 1) a fun collection of events (including wood festivals, food festivals and the annual conker championships) celebrating the area’s Hallowe’en customs and growing forest culture.

Peebles is also home to Eastgate Theatre and Arts Centre, a well-loved hub for live performances, films, classes and exhibitions and history buffs will love Neidpath Castle, with its great hall, well and pit prison; and Tweeddale Museum and Gallery.

Jedburgh: History in every cranny

Like Melrose and Kelso, Jedburgh is known as an impressive abbey town, but there is so much more to see and do.

The town trail hints at some of the many famous people who have fallen in love with the place, from Bonnie Prince Charlie to Robert Burns.

History fills every nook and cranny of Jedburgh – for example, as well as giving visitors an insight into what life was like in an 1820s prison, Jedburgh Castle Jail is packed with historical and cultural artefacts, prints, paintings and information about the town.

And the Mary Queen of Scots Visitor Centre commemorates her residency in the town in 1566, when she visited her lover the Earl of Bothwell at Hermitage Castle.

Modern-day life in Jedburgh is a fantastic mix of outdoor pursuits and cultural events.

Harestanes Countryside Centre, for example, runs a varied programme of activities and events, including illustrated talks, child-friendly workshops and art exhibitions. Forthcoming highlights include a masterclass with wildlife and landscape photographer
Laurie Campbell (September 26-27) and Sculpted by Nature, an exhibition of bronzes by Angela Hunter (August 29 to October 1).

Galashiels: Alive all year round with art and music

The Borders’ major commercial centre, known for its textile industries, Galashiels is a busy town dedicated to showcasing the best in music and arts from local communities and further afield.

The Stowed Out Festival (August 28-29) is a chilled-out affair, featuring music from the likes of Model Aeroplanes, Dick Gaughan, Old Blind Dogs and more, while for three glorious days in September, the historic town plays host to music festival entitled 100 Bands on the Border (September 11-13).

This year’s line-up includes Bags of Rock, Donnie Munro, Amy Baillie and Craig Jeffrey.

The summer’s Borders Book Festival has ended but an add-on event featuring authors Neil Oliver and Richard Dawkins will take place at the Volunteer Hall in Galashiels on September 17. Oliver will be talking about his first historical novel about a young man from the Borders, while Dawkins will be discussing the second part of his memoirs.

Elsewhere, Old Gala House houses a permanent collection and a changing programme of fine art and historical exhibitions, so there is always something new to see.

Melrose: Littered with literary links

Famous as the home of the Rugby Sevens and the resting place (at the abbey) of Robert the Bruce’s heart, Melrose is also a vibrant, busy centre for speciality shopping and the arts.

The town trail reveals Melrose’s literary links – Daniel Defoe and Dorothy and William Wordsworth all visited, while the town features in works by Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott. Joseph Turner painted scenes of the town and its surroundings, too.

Culture and art remains alive and well in Melrose – the town’s own amateur operatic society has been performing the works of Gilbert and Sullivan since 1935 for example, and it is currently the only organisation to do so in the Scottish Borders.

A visit to the Ormiston Institute, bequeathed to the town for recreational purposes by Charles Ormiston, reveals the wonders of Melrose’s Roman past. The Trimontium Exhibition, run by the Trimontium Trust, includes finds from the site of the Roman fort and camps nearby.

Hawick: A vision of the past and the future

In the middle of a beautiful Victorian park lies Hawick Museum and Gallery, which delves into the lives of the townspeople, from the soldiers who died in the two world wars to famous sons like motorcycle champions Jimmie Guthrie and Steve Hislop.

The Heart of Hawick has been created in an old textile mill – the glass floor in the café allows visitors to see the water-wheel powered machinery still in place below – and as well as housing artefacts about the history of the town, it is also home to a cinema, theatre and exhibition and concert space, plus the Borders Textile Towerhouse, packed with garments, fabrics, photographs and art showcasing the area’s knitwear and tweed industries. A dynamic programme of ever-changing exhibitions brings in contemporary fashion and design too – look out for Textiles and Photography in Harmony, which runs until September 6.

There were once more than 50 textile mills in Hawick, which was known as the home of cashmere. Today the industry is reviving and Hawick it is the start of the cashmere trail, an insight into the industry past and present.

Kelso: a tour of sports and culture

From pipe bands to Mozart, the medieval market town of Kelso is proud of its varied arts, sports and culture programme.

Kelso boasts Floors Castle, Scotland’s largest inhabited castle (it’s home to the Duke and Duchess of Roxburghe) and has a sporting claim to fame. Next month it will welcome the Tour of Britain, British Cycling’s premier road event featuring some of the world’s top riders. Stage three of the race, which starts in Cumbria, concludes on Tuesday, September 8, at Floors Castle.

But it’s not all about the cycling – Floors is also the location for The Massed Pipe Bands and Family Fun Day (August 30).

Now a well-established tradition, it was the brainchild of the present Duke’s father, who believed the castle would make a spectacular backdrop for such an event. Now it attracts pipe bands from all over the Scottish Borders, playing music passed down through the centuries.

Kelso’s Tait Hall will be the venue for an entirely different musical feast on October 1,
when Scottish Opera brings its tour of Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte to town.