Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
he lower Tweed has just one town of note,
Kelso
, a busy agricultural centre, with a
couple of stately homes close by and a ruined abbey, the latter easily upstaged by those at
Melrose
and
Dryburgh
, further upstream. Melrose makes a great base for exploring the
middle reaches of the Tweed valley. he rich, forested scenery inspired Sir Walter Scott,
whose own purpose-built creation,
Abbotsford
, stands a few miles outside Melrose. Perhaps
fortunately, Scott died before the textile boom turned his beloved
Selkirk
and
Galashiels
into mill towns. he Tweed is at its most beguiling in the stretch between Melrose and the
pleasant country town of
Peebles
, when it winds through the hills past numerous stately
homes, most notably
Traquair House
. Public transport is no problem, with frequent buses
travelling along the valley. Just west of Peebles, the Tweed curves south towards Tweedsmuir,
from where it's just a few miles further to Moffat in Dumfries and Galloway.
2
Kelso and around
Sir Walter Scott (see p.127) once referred to
KELSO
as the “the most beautiful, if not
the most romantic village in Scotland.” While its aesthetic powers may have diminished
somewhat since Scott's days, this place retains a somewhat jaded charm thanks to its
historical buildings and its position at the confluence of the Tweed and Teviot. Today's
Kelso grew up in the shadow of its now-ruined Benedictine abbey, which had brought
prosperity to the town until the Reformation. he town is now centred on
The Square
,
an unusually large cobbled expanse a short distance from the abbey and presided over
by the elegant honey-hued
Town Hall
. To one side stands the imposing
Cross Keys Hotel
,
with its distinctive rooftop balustrade, and a supporting chorus of three-storey
eighteenth- and nineteenth-century pastel buildings on every side. Leaving he Square
along Roxburgh Street, take the alley down to the
Cobby Riverside Walk
, where a brief
stroll leads to Floors Castle (see below).
Kelso Abbey
Bridge St • Daily dawn-dusk • Free; HS
Once the richest and most powerful abbey in the Borders,
Kelso Abbey
was savaged by
the English three times in the sixteenth century: the last (and by far the worst) assault
was part of the “Rough Wooing” (see p.583). Such was the extent of the devastation -
further compounded by the Reformation - that less survives of Kelso than any of the
other Border abbeys. Nevertheless, at first sight it looks pretty impressive, with the
heavy Norman west end of the abbey church almost entirely intact. Beyond, little
remains, though it is possible to make out the two transepts and towers that gave the
abbey the shape of a double cross, unique in Scotland.
Floors Castle
1 mile northwest of Kelso; from the square, follow Roxburgh St to the entrance gate on the outskirts of town, or walk from town centre
along Cobby Riverside Walk • Easter & May-Sept daily 10.30am-5pm, Oct daily 10.30-3.30pm • £8.50; garden and grounds only £4 •
T
01573 223333,
W
www.floorscastle.com
From Kelso's handsome bridge over the Tweed, you can easily make out the pepper-pot
turrets and castellations of
Floors Castle
, the country's largest inhabited building.
Designed by William Adam in the 1720s for the first Duke of Roxburghe, the interior
still demonstrates his uncluttered style, despite some Victorian modifications, while the
superb views from the windows give the place an airy feel. Floors remains the home of
the Duke of Roxburghe - his imperious features can be seen in a variety of portraits
and photos around the house - so you get to see only ten rooms and the basement. In
1903, the eighth duke married Mary Goelet, the wealthiest heiress in America at the
time, and the
paintings
, by Matisse, Augustus John and Odilon Redon, as well as the
Brussels and Gobelin
tapestries
she carried off from her family home, are now the
castle's highlights. here's an above-average
café
and you can wander down to the
Tweed and see the holly tree that marks the spot where James II was killed by an
