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Abbeys
in the Scottish Borders.

It’s 20:05 in the Borders.
Scottish Borders

Four great ruined abbeys.

The four great Border abbeys are the region's grandest ruins. Melrose, Scotland's first Cistercian abbey, is said to hold the heart of Robert the Bruce. Jedburgh's soaring arches mix Romanesque and Gothic, Dryburgh sits quietly by the Tweed with Scott's grave in its grounds, and Kelso was once one of the richest in the land. A long-distance path links all four. Give each an hour, and look up at the carvings.

Kelso Abbey→
Jedburgh Abbey→
Melrose Abbey→
Dryburgh Abbey→
Abbey of the day18 hours ago

Melrose Abbey.

The magnificent red sandstone ruin of Scotland's first Cistercian abbey, founded in 1136, where Robert the Bruce's heart is buried.

Read about it
From Issue 3 of Hidden Scotland magazineIssue 316 hours ago

A Pilgrimage to the Borders Abbeys

The Borders Abbeys Way, a 68-mile circular walk linking Melrose, Dryburgh, Kelso and Jedburgh abbeys through the towns, rivers and old drove roads of the Scottish Borders.

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From the magazine15 hours agoThe printed copy of Issue 03Issue 03Winter 2021

Hugh de Moreville, Constable of Scotland, founded Dryburgh Abbey near St Boswells, in the Scottish Borders, and as an older man gave up his office to live there as a monk.

Hugh was a deeply religious man from a Norman family who came north in 1124 to support David I as King of Scots. Dryburgh came out of an agreement he made in 1150 with the Premonstratensian canons of Alnwick Abbey in Northumberland, a sign of how close the religious houses on either side of the border were. His abbey was far more than a gesture to the king. Late in life he retired from his role as Constable to join the monks at Dryburgh, and he died there in 1162. The elegant ruins of his abbey still stand next to St Boswells today.

See Dryburgh Abbey · Scottish Borders
Quiz13 hours ago

Which king founded Melrose and Jedburgh abbeys, and most of the great Border houses?

From our guide11 hours ago

Kelso Abbey.

Dedicated on 3 May 1128, Kelso’s splendid abbey was once the grandest and wealthiest in the Borders. Today it stands as the most heavily ruined of the region’s four gigantic abbeys – thanks in part to the cannons of Henry VIII’s armies – but makes up for this with thick helpings of medieval atmosphere.

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Lunch9 hours agoScottish BordersHunters Stables Bar & Bistro800 yardsScottish BordersBuccleuch Arms0.6 milesScottish BordersBurts Hotel3.1 miles

Lunch near Dryburgh Abbey.

The three good places closest to it: Hunters Stables Bar & Bistro, Buccleuch Arms and Burts Hotel.

See Dryburgh Abbey
Did you know8 hours ago

At Melrose in the Scottish Borders, Abbotsford, Sir Walter Scott's home on the Tweed, is where the fashion for Scots Baronial architecture began.

Scott bought a bare farm here in 1811 and named it after the ford the monks of Melrose Abbey used. His rooms remain largely as he left them, library included, and an interactive story trail winds round Witch Corner in the grounds. The visitor centre, café and exhibition are free to walk into all year.

See Abbotsford, Home of Sir Walter Scott · Scottish Borders
Open again6 hours ago

Kelso Abbey is open again, five years after it was closed for checks on its high stonework.

The ruins are open every day from 9.30am to 5pm. The town is already planning for the abbey's 900th anniversary in 2028.

See Kelso Abbey · Scottish Borders
From our guide4 hours ago

Jedburgh Abbey.

It took more than seven decades to build this colossal 12th-century abbey, and although some 460 years have passed since it was disestablished, it remains a magnificent sight. Blending Romanesque and early Gothic styles, it still boasts a herb garden, as well as the remains of a refectory and dormitory. Its location, mere miles from the English border, has bequeathed it a long history of being targeted by invading armies.

See the place
Quiz3 hours ago

Robert the Bruce is buried in two places. Which two?

From the magazine1 hour agoThe printed copy of Issue 03Issue 03Winter 2021

Jedburgh Abbey, in the Scottish Borders just ten miles from England, was built to show its English neighbours the grandeur of Scottish church architecture.

It began as an Augustinian priory and became a full monastery in 1154, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Jedburgh never had the wealth of Melrose or Kelso, the other great Border abbeys, but wealth was not its purpose: its very existence was a display for the neighbours across the border. Look at the intricate stonework and marvellous arches of the nave and you can see how well it played that part. Its glory was on full show in 1285, at the marriage of Alexander III of Scotland and Yolande of Dreux. What remains today is arguably the most magnificent of all the Border Abbeys.

See Jedburgh Abbey · Scottish Borders
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