Fancy visiting a town that has wee independent shops rather than massive supermarkets, where some of Scotland’s great walks converge amidst some of our finest scenery and that comes wrapped in swathe of epic history? Well you just found that town right here in the Scottish Borders. They say Scotland Starts Here and when it’s as good as Melrose you really don’t need to drive any further north in search of joy and adventure. There is a direct railway link too from Edinburgh down to Tweedbank on Melrose’s fringes, so there really is no excuse not to visit if you’re in Edinburgh or Glasgow. What are you waiting for?
1. Hearts and History
The old Borders Badlands were once alive with rampaging Borders Reivers, proud Scottish kings and English interlopers being sent back hame tae think again. You unearth history at every turn in Melrose, a town like an onion you can just keep peeling back through its layers. At the heart of it all is glorious Melrose Abbey, my favourite of the jaw-dropping quartet of ruined Borders abbeys. King Robert the Bruce’s heart lies buried here, reason enough to visit. Local legend suggests King Arthur is buried overlooking Melrose too in the vaulting Eildon Hills.
2. Hiking Heaven
Melrose is a real walking fulcrum. You can soar up the triple peaks of the aforementioned Eildon Hills, which hang omnipresent above Melrose. Remarkably three of Scotland’s great long distance trails ripple through this Borders oasis. You can tackle a stretch of the coast-to coast 215 mile Southern Upland Way, take in those ruined abbeys on the 68 mile circular Borders Abbeys Way, or push off south in search of England on a pilgrimage to Lindisfarne on the 62 mile St Cuthbert’s Way.
Melrose Paths is a community-led network of lovely walks in and around Melrose if you are looking for something shorter and gentler. Rugby fans love Melrose too as the game of Sevens was born here and every year sees the town burn alive with accents from all over the world during the Melrose Sevens. Southern Scotland is also serious cycling country. The coast to coast 250 mile Kirkpatrick C2C runs nearby and there is world-class mountain biking at the brilliant 7Stanes trails too.
3. Great Food and Drink
The Borders are renowned for their brilliant produce and Melrose is a great place to enjoy it. Put together the ultimate picnic drifting through the wee shops and delis of the historic core. Or head to Burts Hotel. On the menu is salmon smoked locally and Borders lamb, which is famous across Scotland and beyond. It’s great to see the Tempest Brewing Co guys go from strength to strength. Their new brewery and taproom within staggering distance of Tweedbank railway station is just brilliant. They do great food here as well a superb range of beers, so it’s a really welcome addition to the Borders we highly recommend.
4. Romans Ahoy!
Some museums intrigue; others entertain. Melrose’s Trimontium Museum does both and also manages to question the entire way we think about Britain. Their director John Reid once told me that the way the vast Roman fort here at Melrose – Trimontium (named after the Eildon Hills) – was abandoned in such haste is evidence that there was an embryonic Scottish nation centuries before Anglo-centric scholars even countenance the idea. In short he says “Scotland was Rome’s Afghanistan”. Last time I was down Thania M Flores doubled down on this hypothesis and showed me the excellent new Virtual Reality experience that really brings Trimontium, and Reid’s theories, alive. The museum also organises excellent walking tours of the fort site.
5. Chill out in Style
Scotland these days is awash with mobile saunas, but Cedar Hus is gloriously different. They didn’t just buy their wooden sauna off the peg, but lovingly fashioned it themselves. It’s a lovely touch that they have an extra wood seat in the window. The inspirational woman behind it, Laura Mitchell, explained to me the extra seating “is to encourage everyone to be social, which is a key part of the sauna experience.”.
And it’s quite an experience. I joined them at Lindean Loch near Melrose for a wild swim first and then a sauna ritual that included fresh pine fragrance and being thrashed with steaming hot birch. Very Scandinavian and a wonderful experience I strongly recommend.
6. Great Places to Stay
Melrose has some great places to stay. Over the years we’ve spent a lot of time at the twin hotels in the High Street run by the Henderson family, who have real Melrose heritage. Burts has been run by the family for over half a century! It has a welcoming, traditional vibe, while the Townhouse Hotel across the road is a bit more of a contemporary boutique. It’s run by James Henderson, while his brother Nick is at the helm of Burts. “It’s a great town and we’re proud to be at the heart of Melrose, offering visitors a traditional, warm Borders welcome and hospitality,” Nick told me last time I stayed.
7. The Perfect Borders Base
We love the Borders. Like Dumfries and Galloway, this slice of Scotland is seriously underrated and often criminally ignored by tourists bashing north to get to Edinburgh or the Highlands. Melrose makes for an ideal Borders base. Galashiels, with the Great Tapestry of Scotland exhibit, lies within walking distance, as does Sir Walter Scott’s palatial old home of Abbotsford on the banks of the lifeblood Tweed. You can walk or cycle over to St Boswells for lunch and/or a book event at the brilliant Mainstreet Trading Company. As always in the Borders there are myriad options. Scotland may start here, but it certainly doesn’t end in Melrose with endless possibilities.
* This blog is in conjunction with Scotland Starts Here. All views and opinions expressed are very much our own and remain independent. For more information on Melrose and southern Scotland head to scotlandstartshere.com/point-of-interest/Melrose. A special mention goes to The Tweed Valley Blogger Stewart Wilson, who helped me dive deeper into Melrose and its surrounds. He can help you out with bespoke guided tours too.
