Border Break 2: abbeys and towns
The county of Scottish Borders is famed for its bustling towns and beautiful abbey ruins. We didn’t explore any of these as much as we might usually have done for two reasons. First, when we were in the towns we were usually with Mum and therefore limited by how far a nonagenarian could walk and, second, the abbeys were closed when we were there. This wasn’t because of Covid – Historic Scotland, which looks after them, was checking all the masonry. I’m more than happy not to have lumps of stone falling on my head, so I class this as a good thing.
Melrose
Melrose is a bustling little town (see its main street above) clustered around the pink sandstone ruins of its abbey, which was founded in 1136 by Cistercian monks. I was pleased to find a women’s history plaque on our brief stroll.
Selkirk
Selkirk is another typical Borders town, which we explored a bit more thoroughly than the others. Its built around its market place, where you can see it proudly proclaims itself to be the home of the original Selkirk Bannock. We were lucky enough to be provided with one of these in the welcome pack in our cottage – it’s a rich and buttery leavened tea bread.
The nearby Pant Well was originally constructed in 1706 to improve the quality of the town’s water supply: in 1715 a trough (pant) was added to catch the overflow and in 1728 a dial, statue and town coat of arms were incorporated. The structure was rebuilt in 1898 with an image of Queen Victoria displayed above the fountain and included the coat of arms from the original one. On the left side of the well are the names of the local men who fought in the Boer War.
Next to the well stands a memorial to Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832), a Scottish historical novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Scott was also Sheriff (judge) of Selkirk and dispensed justice from 1799 for over thirty years from the courtroom in the old Town Hall behind his statue.
A contemporary of Scott’s was the explorer Mungo Park (1771-1806) who was born near Selkirk. A monument to him is further along the street.
A couple of other small memorials caught our eye. The bronze bust marks the birthplace of the artist Tom Scott RSA (1854 – 1927), the son of a local tailor. The County Hotel, an early 19th century coaching inn, has a life size statue of Red Dog Souter, a successful greyhound owned in the 19th century by the proprietor, above the door.
Jedburgh
Jedburgh is another abbey town, but we only stopped here briefly for coffee, so just the one picture – however, as a bonus, here I am at the abbey a few 😉 years ago when I was aged about 11.
Kelso
Kelso was a brief stop too. It also has an abbey, and an octagonal Old Parish Church. The white building is Spread Eagle House, another early 19th century coaching inn but, unlike Selkirk’s County Hotel, it has been converted into flats. We had a holiday rental here some years ago, which wasn’t an unalloyed success – however, checking online, I find it has been much upgraded since.
After that brief jaunt around some Borders town, next time we’ll move out to the countryside – with more about Sir Walter Scott.
The Glasgow Gallivanter 
Haven’t visited many border towns but it looks like there is so much to see. May be worth a trip. Really like the name Mungo Park though. He sounds like someone special doesn’t he?
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He does sound like, well, a park rather than a person! Yes, there’s loads to see in the area.
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adorable at 11 years and still adorable now! I do love the borders, a long time though since I explored
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Too kind, as always! x
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😘
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I rather like the Borders. I’ve only been in the area a few times but it’s quiet with nice countryside and some interesting small towns. A revisit is probably overdue.
I’m glad you were able to write up this trip. It can be difficult when you’ve lost someone dear but it’s good that you can look back and remember some time spent with your Mum
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Thanks, yes, with the passage of time I can now look back on it more positively. Still not tackling the pile of photo albums and other items of Mum’s history that are piled in my hall though! The Borders is a lovely area, and I think we will go back on our own sometime to explore it more fully than we could this time. It’s a long time since we’ve done that.
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I can relate to that. Time heals and you’ll be able to smile as you remember the good things, but you’ll always miss her.
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I love all of these photos, Anabel. Especially the one of the cute girl in the yellow dress! 😀
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Thanks Donna!
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Such a lovely town! And I also loved the pictures of you as a child!
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Thanks Ann!
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Hi Anabel – what an interesting introduction to a few of the border towns – fascinating … and it looks to be a gorgeous time for you both – thank you – Hilary
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Thanks Hilary, each town is packed with interest.
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A true gallivant, Anabel! Good to see so many lovely pics. I just love all the historic sites you are surrounded with. Thanks for sharing the childhood photo, too. We never really lose those times and feelings, even if we might forget them.
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I know, there’s history everywhere you turn. The childhood photo is scanned form an old slide – I did a lot of those for mum a few years ago so I was able to find it very easily.
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Lovely towns. One of the great joys of outdoor walking for me, after bagging hills for years with various clubs, was solo exploring the East Coast, Fife, and the Scottish Borders where all the real history, architecture, rich farmland, better weather and communities exist.
A different world from the much bleaker sparsely populated Highlands. Good that you have a partner to share it with as all my friends are totally single minded list tickers to this day with no interest at all in anything else outdoors and just look at me as if to say- ” What’s wrong with that man… why does he like cities, towns, villages etc? whereas I think ” I wish they’d change THEIR thinking sometimes and come with me.”.But it never happens.
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That’s a shame, because there is so much to explore. It sounds as though your friends are single minded to the point of obsession! There’s a place for both – I love East and West coasts for different reasons.
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What a lovely area! That picture of you when you were eleven is adorable… you were very mod 🙂
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Well, thank you Janis – but I don’t think I was ever that cool!
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So many lovely little places to explore. One day we hope to spend a good length of time in Scotland, just wandering from place to place.
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There are so many places to choose from! We have no plans to go back to the Borders this year, but some day we will explore them more fully again.
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