The Borders

The pink- and red-tinted stone ruins of Melrose Abbey soar above their riverside surroundings. Founded in 1136, Melrose was the first Cistercian settlement in Scotland and grew rich selling wool and hides to Flanders. The English repeatedly razed the abbey, most viciously in 1385 and 1545, and most of the remains date from the intervening period. The site is dominated by the Abbey Church, which has lost its west front, and whose nave is reduced to the elegant window arches and chapels of the south aisle. Amazingly, however, the stone pulpitum (screen), separating the choir monks from their lay brothers, is preserved. Beyond, the presbytery has its magnificent perpendicular window, lierne vaulting and ceiling bosses intact, with the capitals of the surrounding columns sporting the most intricate of curly kale carving. In the south transept, another fine fifteenth-century window sprouts yet more delicate, foliate tracery and the adjacent cornice is enlivened by weathered angels playing musical instruments. Look out, too, for the Coronation of the Virgin on the east end gable, and the numerous mischievous gargoyles, such as the pig playing the bagpipes on the roof on the south side of the nave. The sculptural detailing at Melrose is easy to miss if you don’t know where to look, so using the free audioguide, or buying yourself a guidebook, is a good idea.

The Maxwell Stuarts have lived in Traquair House since 1491, making it the oldest continuously inhabited house in Scotland. The whitewashed facade is strikingly handsome, with narrow windows and trim turrets surrounding the tiniest of front doors – in other words it’s a welcome change from other grandiose stately homes. Inside, you can see original vaulted cellars, where locals once hid their cattle from raiders; the twisting main staircase as well as the earlier medieval version, later a secret escape route for persecuted Catholics; a carefully camouflaged priest’s hole; and even a priest’s room where a string of resident chaplains lived in hiding. In the museum room there is a wealth of treasures, including a fine example of a Jacobite Amen glass, a rosary and crucifix owned by Mary, Queen of Scots, and the cloak worn by the Earl of Nithsdale during his dramatic escape from the Tower of London.

Spare time for the surrounding gardens, where you’ll find a hedge maze, several craft workshops and the Traquair House Brewery, the only British brewery that still ferments totally in oak. There’s a café serving snacks in an estate cottage on the redundant avenue that leads to the locked Bear Gates; Bonnie Prince Charlie left the house through these gates, and the then-owner promised to keep them locked till a Stuart should ascend the throne.