Dryburgh Abbey – A Tweed Walk with the Dog and Lunch
A few hours.
The route
From St Boswells, a path follows the Tweed upstream to an old chain footbridge, and over it Dryburgh Abbey stands in pink sandstone in a loop of the river, where Sir Walter Scott is buried.
It's a lovely walk with a dog, who can splash in the shallows along the way. Lunch is back in the village at the Mainstreet Trading Company, a bookshop with a café where well-behaved dogs are welcome too.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The nearest of ours is The House in the Hill, 12 miles away. Sleeps 4; next free Thu 29 Oct to Sat 31 Oct.
Book the Mainstreet Trading Company
Ring the Mainstreet Trading Company café on 01835 824087 in shop hours to book a table for about 12.15pm.
The day
St Boswells
A morning on foot by the Tweed. Walk out along the river and over the old footbridge to Dryburgh, come back by the same bank, and finish with a relaxed lunch in St Boswells, the dog at your feet.
About three hoursAbout 3.5 miles on foot
Dryburgh Abbey
An attraction
In St Boswells, park for free along the village green. The walk follows the Tweed upstream from the village to the Dryburgh suspension footbridge, built in 1872, about 25 minutes from the car. The abbey is about 15 minutes beyond it, its ruins sitting in a loop of the river among old cedars and yews. Sir Walter Scott is buried here. It's open every day, 10am to 4pm from October to March and 9.30am to 5pm in summer, with tickets at the gate, and dogs are welcome. Keep the dog close where the path passes fields with sheep or cattle. The path is earth and can be muddy, so wear boots, and leave it for another day when the river is in flood. The way back is the same, about 35 minutes from the abbey to Main Street.
About 7 min on foot
The Mainstreet Trading Company
Lunch
Lunch is at the Mainstreet Trading Company, a bookshop and café on Main Street. It serves lunch from noon to 3pm, Tuesday to Sunday: soups, sandwiches and a dish of the day, with home baking all day. It's shut on Mondays. Well-behaved dogs are welcome in the café and the bookshop, though not on laps or in the deli. Ring to book a table. If it's full, the Buccleuch Arms on the green serves lunch from noon, Thursday to Sunday, and dogs are welcome in its bar.
If it rains
The walk is all outdoors on an earth path: in steady rain keep to the village, browse the Mainstreet bookshop with the dog, and have an early lunch.
Buccleuch Arms, a restaurant in Melrose.