A ramble down to Melrose

I’m sitting here in a rambling mood, listening to the 1968 hit “The Weight,” (this song has always held a special place in my heart. Dad had a white truck, all rusty in the bottom, that was named Annie, close enough to Fannie to evoke the memory anyway).

Saturday, we rambled down to Melrose Abbey, a 12th century Cistercian monk abbey. Check the map link on to the right to see where it is, about an hour or so south of Edinburgh. Absolutely wonderful. We had intended to go on a 4-hour hike in addition to the abbey, but it was so rainy that we opted not to (it was worse in Edinburgh, however, so I won’t complain). Instead, we just went into the city of Melrose. The rain was on and off all day so some of my pictures were spotty, exacerbated by the fact that I used only Manual in an attempt to become more comfortable using the camera settings.

The abbey is very beautiful. A must see if you are here. We spent almost two hours walking around listening to the audio tour.

Afterwards, we grabbed meat pies from a famous butcher in Melrose. I had a pork roll and a venison and haggis roll. I also bought fresh raspberries for £1, and ate the entire box. In many ways, it was a perfect afternoon despite the rain. The raspberries made me crave blackberries; I remember picking Tupperware bowls full with Bethany from the blackberry bushes next to our driveway. Bethany always had less than I did, she ate as many as she picked I think. It is one of my fondest memories from childhood. (I miss you Sis!).

There were several funny signs in this town. One sign announced to traffic that they should slow for “Peacocks and Children.” Another warned of an open medieval culvert.

After lunch, we went to The Roman Heritage Museum in Melrose. It was interesting, but a bit old fashioned. I think a website could have displayed all of the information more efficiently. Most of the exhibits were text and pictures, not actual artifacts. It reminded me a little of the Grand Rapids natural history museum (which was really cool now that I’m remembering it; another fond memory).

Finally, Melrose is the site of an old Roman fort: Trimontium. This sounded really exciting, so we drove around looking for it. Trimontium was one of the largest outposts above Hadrian’s Wall, and was important enough to be a zero point for measuring mileage in the north. When we arrived, however, we discovered that the fort ruins were actually excavated 4 times (the latest being in 1998) and that each time they were reburied underneath plows oil for preservation. So, really, all we got to see was a open field where people think something was. A bit of a disappointment.

Speaking of disappointments, to the left you will see how much we paid to fill up our car with gas. £38, which is roughly $80.

Well, Sunday we are going to Hadrian’s wall so that shouldn’t disappoint.