A Day on the Tweed with some Ruins

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Hello All,

So Kaitlyn and I took an Arcadia free trip down to the borders. Our bus made a stop at Traquair House, the town of Melrose and Roslyn Chapel all the while following the River Tweed.

Traquair House is the oldest standing Catholic household on the main land of Scotland. Mary Queen of Scots and her baby son James stayed there, so did Bonnie Prince Charlie who the reason why the front gates of the house will never be opened again, at least until a Stuart once again sits on the English throne (unlikely that).

All the furniture, knickknacks, and most importantly the harpsichord and tapestries are all authentic to the house and the Stuart-Maxwell family, that has lived in that house for over six hundred years. Not only does the house hold treasures beyond a history nerds wildest dreams, but they brew their own ale and beer which is shipped all over the world. So if you are ever in a bar/pub/club and see a bottle of Traquair Ale/Beer that was made in the Scottish Borders.

The area around the house definitely sums up the wild beauty of the Scottish Borders. Complete with pond, giant scottish swan, hedge-maze and towering hills, it is a beautiful house and grounds.

We stopped in Melrose for lunch and to wander around the ruined abby. We had lunch at this cute little hole-in-the-wall place known as Papa Jack's. (Very good soup by-the-by and a dangerous selection of sweets.)

We were lucky that the Scottish rains held back but don't let the sun fool you, it was COLD!

The ruins of Melrose Abby are quite similar to the ruins of the St. Andrews, but Melrose holds (allegedly) the Heart of Robert the Bruce (aka Da Bruce). His heart was supposed to have been sent to the Holyland to be buried but it only made it to Southern Scotland, the Holyland is pretty far away and he was already dead..... close enough.

By the time we made it to Roslyn it was pitch outside because it is Scotland...in winter...which means it gets dark early. You can not take any pictures of the inside of the Chapel so we have provided a link for your convenience. The outside is covered in a tent, because, well lets just say there were some mistakes made when it came to painting and now the building is full of water. The tent is allowing the Chapel to dry out. Oh and just to let you know Dan Brown lied.

I say that sums up our wee trip to the Border lands.

Enjoy the Pictures,

Merry Meet and Merry Meet Again Friends!
xox Vanessa




http://www.rosslynchapel.org.uk/

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Photos

Traquair House
This is the front of the house, one side was under construction -surprise-.

Man made pond.
One of the Stuart-maxwell Lairds decided that he would re-rout the Tweed and made this pond.

The Swan
Who decided to dunk just as I hit the button...figures

...and wee windows
I like my vines, kaitlyn love her wee windows

Nessie in the Sky!
It looks like the monster that lives in the north.