A Day of Castles and Abbeys

A family friend happened to be visiting Scotland this month, so we decided to meet up. He and his wife were going on a little road trip and they invited me along, so I said yes (of course). I didn't know exactly where we were going, and I was pleasantly surprised by all the cool things we saw that day.


Our main destination was Lindisfarne, which is an island just across the border in England. It isn't actually a full-time island. When the tide is low, you can drive to it via the normal road, but when the tide comes in, the road is covered by water and you have to wait until the next day to cross back to the mainland.

On the island, there is a castle and an abbey. Our first stop was the castle.

I was a little disappointed to find out it was only a 16th-century castle, which isn't quite as old as a lot of the other castles I've seen (although my perspective on old has certainly changed since coming here!). Additionally, there was nothing about the history of the castle during the Elizabethan Period, only its history during the 20th century. I liked how it was decorated like it was in the 20th century, but I felt I missed out on the 400 years or so of its history between its being built and its use int he 20th century. I also wouldn't go back in the summer, because the rooms are small and there were quite a few tourists there.

That being said, I really liked the castle. It's built on a huge mound of rock and it towers above everything else on the island. It also is built on the edge of the sea, so it has a really great view.

Also, the entire time we were at the castle, there was a piper outside, which seemed weird to me, since we were in England, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

After the castle, we went to the priory on the island. I learned there that the priory is owned by English Heritage, which is connected to Historic Scotland. Since I'm a first-year member of Historic Scotland, I got in for half price and if I renew next year (which I surely will), I can get into English Heritage sites for free.

At the priory, there is small museum that we went through and then we walked around the ruins. There isn't a whole lot left of it, but you can imagine the scale. The foundation is still there, so you can tell how many square feet it was. There is also the remnants of an arch, which gives you an idea of how tall it was, since there is no roof left.

After the priory, we went grabbed lunch and headed back to Scotland.

Our next stop was Kelso. The abbey we were going to see doesn't charge to get in because there is so little there. Basically all that's left of a once magnificent church is the entrance.

We didn't stay long, but on our way out of town, we went to Floors Castle to check it out. We were a little misled, because it's more of a 19th-century grand home than a castle. We didn't pay to go in, we just looked at it from the outside and moved on.

From Kelso we headed to Jedburgh. There is another abbey there. I remember Nikki going there this summer, so I asked her what it had to do with Mary Queen of Scots, and she says that Mary stayed in Jedburgh while she recovered after she fell off her horse and nearly died. The abbey there is pretty cool, but unfortunately we couldn't stay very long because we still had one more place to go.

We went to Melrose Abbey, which I had also heard of. It is rumored that Robert the Bruce's heart is buried there. You can also climb to the top and get a cool panoramic view!

The vessel that carries the heart (allegedly of Robert the Bruce) was found here

On my way out of the abbey, I also spied some heather on a nearby hill.

After Melrose, we headed back to Edinburgh. It was a really long day, but I had such a nice time catching up and exploring Scotland and a little bit of England.