St. Ronan's Wells Visitor Centre

St Ronan’s Wells Visitor Centre will re-open on Thursday 2 June. We can’t wait to welcome you all back! Please keep an eye on this web page for further updates.

St. Ronan’s Wells was a popular spa where people came to drink the water from the sulphurous spring which helped with their ailments. At one time rivalling the town of Harrogate, the current pavilion was built by the first bottled water company in Scotland. It is now a visitor centre and community garden.

Your visit is Free. Please Donate to help us keep this unique museum free to everyone. Your donation plays a vital role in helping us to improve our visitor experience.

To find out more about our 2022 exhibitions and events click here.

The centre’s name comes from the founding legend of an itinerant pilgrim monk called St Ronan, who came upon Innerleithen on his journey up the River Tweed. The local story claims that “St. Ronan Cleik’t the Deil by the hind leg and banished him”, referring to the monks bringing Christianity to this part of the world.

The literary connections of the town to James Hogg and Sir Walter Scott are covered in the permanent exhibition; Scott frequented the spa as a boy, and wrote a novel about the town called ‘St Ronan’s Well’, which the residents of Innerleithen were quick to attribute to their town.

St. Ronan’s Border Games were founded by James Hogg ‘the Ettrick Shepherd’ in 1827 and held initially to give the locals an enjoyable pursuit and to entertain the many visitors thronging the village to “take the waters”. The silver arrow that was competed for is on display. The Games and the unique Cleikum Ceremonies continue to this day and objects associated with them are on display.

The adjoining gardens provide a lovely setting to relax in, with aromatic herbs, sculptures and seating.

Mini bus coach tours are welcome. There is a small retail area in the visitor centre and plants for sale in the Community Garden.

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