We had rocked up to Selkirk at the end of Anglo-Scottish Border 2. Anglo-Scottish Border Day 3 would see us visit the four Borders Abbeys – Melrose, Dryburgh, Jedburgh, Kelso – and finishing at Kelso.

Today would be a day of site-seeing, and we had quite a few site to see!

Leaving Selkirk we joined the track alongside Ettrick Water for a little while.

A few miles in to the ride, where Ettrick Water meets the River Tweed, we crossed Old Tweed Bridge.

At this point we also joined NCN Route EV12.

We followed the EV12 cycle path for a few miles as it continued to track the River Tweed. Then, when it reached Tweedbank we turned eastward and cycled alongside the newly restored section of the Waverley railway line.

From Tweedbank we cycled on to Melrose.

Melrose, of course, was the start of Sarah and Neil’s memorable St Cuthbert’s Way walk back in 2021.

We decided to have our morning break here, popping into Eden Coffee House.

Just across the road is Melrose Abbey, one of the historic four Scottish Borders abbeys. Our aim was to visit all four of these today.

Melrose Abbey was founded in 1098 by Robert of Molesme. It was the responsibility of the Cistercian monastic order, also referred to as the Order of St. Bernard.

A few miles outside of Melrose is another viaduct, Leaderfoot Viaduct. As you can imagine, Tracey wanted a good look at this. The viaduct was part of the section connecting the East Coast Main Line between Berwick-upon-Tweed and Edinburgh with the Edinburgh to Carlisle “Waverley Line”.

There are also two other bridges crossing the River Tweed. All three probably replaced an old Roman bridge which enabled people to reach the nearby Trimontium Roman fort.

Leaving the river valley, there is a stonking little climb up to Scott’s View. Thankfully, when reached, there is a lovely view taking in the River Tweed and the Eildon Hills.

A little further on is the William Wallace Statue. Andy S had previously visited this site as part of our St Cuthbert’s Way Coast-to-Coast cycle tour a few years earlier.

This also looks out over the River Tweed and the Eildon Hills. It was built in 1814 based on a portrait of the legendary Scottish hero. The sculpture was commissioned by David Stewart Erskine, the 11th Earl of Buchan and executed by Mr John Smith of Darnick, a self-taught sculptor.

The historic sites just kept on coming. one around every corner. Next up was the second abbey of the day, Dryburgh Abbey. This abbey was formerly the responsibility of Premonstratensians, also known as Norbertines, an order of canons regular. The abbey site was established in 1121.

Continuing down the hill we passed a more modern memorial, The Temple of the Muses. The temple itself dates back to 1817 while the sculptures are more modern. The new bronze statue, representing the Four Seasons, was commissioned from local sculptor Siobhan O’Hehir.

Below the temple we crossed the Dryburgh Suspension Bridge.

Tired from our sightseeing, we stopped off for lunch Milestone Garden Centre on the outskirts of Newton St Boswells. It was a decent lunch too.

Over lunch we decided to reroute our journey. Our sightseeing had taken long than expected. It meant we would miss out Jedburgh Abbey and instead head straight to Kelso.

We joined the A699 and with the wind behind us set off at a fair lick.

Leaving the A699 we decided to detour over Roxburgh Moor to see if we could find our second viaduct of the day – Roxburgh Viaduct.

After going a little awry with our mapping we eventually found it!

The viaduct crossed the River Teviot and was originally a section of the diversionary line for the Tweedmouth main line.

Leaving the viaduct we followed the old track line to the edge of Kelso.

Our journey for the day finished at the Queens Head Hotel.

Later in the evening we went for a walk around the town and took a look at some of the sites including Kelso Abbey.

This had been an enjoyable day of sightseeing where we had cycled just over 28 miles and climbed a couple of thousand feet in the process. Tomorrow we are off to Beal.

You can view our Anglo-Scottish Border Day 3 route from Selkirk to Kelso below: