St Cuthbert’s Way Coast-to-Coast Day 3 – Melrose to Jedburgh

11 July 2021 Andy

St Cuthbert’s Way Coast-to-Coast Day 2 had been a tough day, so we were hoping for a slightly less challenging day of cycling on our St Cuthbert’s Way Coast-to-Coast Day 3 route from Melrose to Jedburgh.

First, however, we took a bit of time out and visited Priorwood Gardens. We had been here before on our Coast and Castles South tour and enjoyed the visit.

It was a peaceful start to the morning.

Across the road from Priorwood Gardens is Harmony Garden. We took a quick look around these gardens too.

We could only put off the cycling for so long. So eventually we collected our bikes and headed out of Melrose following NCN Route 1, and up the Eildon Hills.

A few miles further on we crossed Dryburgh Suspension Bridge and arrived at The Muse of Nature (sometimes referred to as the Temple of the Muses).

The Temple (as well as the Dryburgh Bridge and the William Wallace Statue) were erected by David Stuart Erskine, 11th Earl of Buchan on his Dryburgh Estate. It is a tribute to the poet James Thomson

We were then helpfully informed by a passer-by how to take a peek at Dryburgh Abbey.

It was first established in 1150, and became the premier house in Scotland of the Premonstratensian order. The graceful ruins are the burial place of David Eskrine, 11th Earl of Buchan. Three years later his friend Sir Walter Scott was also buried here.

Another mile or so up the road we took a detour to visit the William Wallace Statue. This is another statue originally commissioned by David Stuart Erskine, 11th Earl of Buchan. It was carved by John Smith and unveiled in September 1814.

Next we headed off towards Kelso.

In Kelso we enjoyed a fine lunch sat outside Carolines Coffee Shop.

Then after lunch made our way over to Kelso Abbey.

The direct route from Melrose to Jedburgh is quite short, so in visiting Kelso we had added extra mileage. In doing so, it meant we changed direction half way through. So now, we found ourselves cycling into a headwind!