I believe it was a Thursday, when we headed from Edinburgh south, to the Borderlands. Instead of renting a car from the airport, this time we rented one from Waverly Station. wow. Three times the cost for one third the time. NOT a deal I would recommend. The original plan was to rent a manual, but once he'd driven for a few days, he realized that trying to shift in city traffic would be some kind of nightmare.
He walked downtown to pick up the car, while I waited outside after checkout. It took longer than we expected, but eventually he made his way back, and we said, "Goodbye!" to The Snug.
I took several pictures similar to the next one. It was a profile I saw day after day, focused on the road, mentally chanting, "Stay left! Stay left! Stay left!"
Our first destination was Melrose Abbey, in the town of Melrose. I had fond memories of this place from 1996, one of them being the kids lined up on a bench giving it "8 thumbs up!" Anything involving open space and grass was a welcome change from marching up and down the streets going from here to there and back again. :)
The abbey is either half-standing or half-collapsed, depending upon your point of view.
I loved the detailed stonework, especially the arches. And there's something about the graveyards, that seem homey and quaint, rather than creepy.
I climbed the tower and looked at the view.
On a distant hillside - I have a pretty good camera - were grazing cattle.
Shift the angle, and I could see grazing sheep.
After thoroughly exploring the abbey, we walked through Melrose, in search of lunch. We found a bakery, where we bought a cup of soup, with roll, for a pound. We also paid a pound apiece, for Empire biscuits. Tasty towers of iced shortbread, they are very filling!
We left Melrose, in search of our night's lodging, the Dryburgh Abbey Hotel. It is located next to Dryburgh Abbey. On the way, we took in Scott's View.
Sir Walter Scott lived in Dryburgh. Legend has it that he would stop his carriage at this lookout, every time he went to or from Dryburgh. He was out of town when he died. When his horses pulled the carriage containing his body home for burial, they automatically stopped and waited...for him to admire the view.
When we arrived at our hotel, I was stunned. Look at this place!! What a tremendous change from The Edinburgh Snug we'd left that morning! I really felt like royalty, walking into such a place to spend the night. wow!
We were too tired to visit Dryburgh Abbey, by the time we got to Dryburgh. There was plenty of time the next day, before heading back to Edinburgh.
I'm almost done with the trip review, but don't fret. Each day was packed as fully as the next. whew!
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