From Lindisfarne, we drove to
Floors Castle.
Despite its name, it is really an estate house rather than a
castle (as it is not a fortification). It was first built in the
1720s and then expanded about 100 years later. It is the seat of
the Duke of Roxburghe and the largest inhabited castle in
Scotland.
This oak tree was clearly very
old. Find Satoshi in the photo to get an idea of its size.
Once again, we were not permitted to take photos inside. I
couldn't find much on interent either but, rest assured, all the
rooms we saw were wonderful! After a very nice afternoon tea in
the café (with fresh and moist chocolate cake), we did a quick
tour of the gardens.
A statue of Mercury
This is actually the carpark but it was one of the nicest
carparks we have seen so far!
Then we drove to Melrose to see the abbey. Unfortunately,
Historic Scotland, the body that looks after ruins such as
abbeys in Scotland, has decided that a large number of its sites
are "unsafe" and have limited visitor access to them. As we had
learned about this before we left home, it was not unexpected
but it was still disappointing and frustrating!
Melrose Abbey was
founded in 1136. It was badly damaged during a raid by Richard
II's army in 1385 but was rebuilt. Much of what is left to see
today dates from that time.
From Melrose, it was only a short distance to
Jedburgh, where ouur accommodation for the night was located. We
were told at the hotel that there were only three options for
dinner - Indian, or either of two fish and chip shops. We chose
the fish and chip shop. The fish was "ok" and the chips were
good!