Roxburghshire 2 - Jedburgh/an Abbey/King David the First /The Silk Road and the connection with the Avignon Popes

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We left Hawick and hit the road for the shortish drive over to Jedburgh. Another stop , another possible overnight car park and what would turn out to be an amazing abbey . The only downside of travelling this time of the year was the high level maintenance that was going on in all the Historic Scotland properties . Another free one for us as members of Cadw . The ticket had paid for itself many times over this year . The roads were good and we were impressed . Money was being spent on this part of the United Kingdom and it showed . The Barnet formula certainly favours Scotland in comparison to Wales. No potholes , clear signage of anything worth seeing . We wondered what would happen if Scotland got their independence . Would they run back to the EU and ask to rejoin? Of course they would . Would the EU welcome them? Not a doubt about that . They would be welcomed with open arms . The border - we pondered about the border . Would we no longer be able to bring fresh fruit and veg and meat and dairy produce over the border? Life could be very odd to say the least if Scotland rejoined the EU.

The sun was shining as we rocked up into Jedburgh. First impressions a nice town with wide roads and pavements . Three storied and four stories houses . Rooms in the attic . Lovely warm sandstone . We were enjoying our trip across the border . No complaints from us two today.

We parked up on another relatively empty car park . No specific spaces for vans but plenty of room and yet again it was free . We put the kettle on and brewed a coffee . Whilst drinking it we talked about how cheap our trip away was turning out to be . £3.70 to park at Carlisle . £5 for the overnight stop and £17 for bacon , sausage , a scone and two cups of coffee. Total spend so far less than £30 as I am sure I had missed some costs such as a donation at the cathedral .

We sat looking at the Abbey . It looked particularly impressive . After the abbey if we wanted we could visit the museum and gaol which are in the castle . There was a lot to do in Jedburgh and we were leaving things to see next time we find ourselves in this part of the country .

Jedburgh lies on the Jed Water which is a tributary of the River Teviot . The first church was built here in the 9th century by Bishop Ecgred of Lindisfarne and King David I made it into a priory some years later . The abbey was founded in 1147 but it was left a ruin by the 16th century . Jedburgh was not sitting on its laurels though as electric charging points were installed and it had a thriving centre . We were getting more and more impressed . The castle was built by King David and was ceded to England by 1174. So much history to take in . As always it was a town subjected to raids on the border .

With dinner and coffee over we headed across the car park passing the hired motorhome and the 43 year old campervan . Up the hill to the abbey entrance . Inside we were greeted by the young girl on Reception . It was a warm welcome and we were told that it did not matter that we were early . The place was relatively empty. That has been the story of this trip so far. Not many holidaymakers and that is just how we like it . We had read up a little about the town and its history and facts started to come back to us . Mary Queen of Scots had stayed here . But then she stayed at many houses in her short life . The Jabobite army marched through the town 1745 led by Bonnie Prince Charlie . Our receptionist broke into our thoughts as she told us about the one way system and that if we needed the shop to buy now as we would not be able to come back that way .

We climbed the steps into a small museum and then walked outside into the bright sunshine . The abbey is spectacular . Probably one of the best we had seen. It is a striking example of Gothic and Romanesque architecture . The Augustinians were the order that lived in the abbey . Their home abbey Beauvais in France . The height of the building was striking . Two large windows now devoid of any stained glass . The stained glass would have let in wonderful colourful light to the church inside . High windows would have let light in . The abbey was roofless but that did not detract from the beauty of the building . The grounds were littered with the footprint of rooms - a kitchen where the monks would be well fed . Communal rooms where the monks ate their meals . A river where the fish would have been kept and a mill stood at the perimeter Now without its wheel The monks would have been well fed and probably saw to the needs of the poor of Jedburgh .

We left the building with our next stop Melrose . Another abbey . One of four in the area . Melrose would be our overnight stop . Another free car park . Scotland was doing us proud . Our walk back took us through the local park . So what was the connection with the Silk Road and the Avignon Popes ? The Silk Road was nothing to do with the Silk Road from China but was a homage to the Rayon factories in the town . Rayon being artificial silk . The rayon mills were once the biggest employers in the town . They closed in 1956. We found a memorial to the silk workers who lost their lives fighting in the war on the gates to the park . The Pope connection - well there was one . At some point the town was in communication with the anti pope living in Avignon .

We left Jedburgh with a smile on our faces . We were getting back into motorhoming again .

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