Home > Uniquely Unspoilt Magazine > Issue 25 > Melrose
~~ Melrose ~~
Lying at the foot of the Eildon Hills, Melrose is a small town with a big range of attractions for visitors. With a selection of historic buildings, narrow streets and a market square, it usually makes for a fairly tranquil setting, but it will be a rather different story on Saturday April 14 this year when the Melrose Sevens tournament takes place.
Dating back to 1883 and held at the Melrose Rugby Club, the event sees the town besieged with rugby fans who come to see teams from both Scotland and further afield complete for glory. 2007's event - the 124th in the club's history - will include a visit from The Shimlas from Bloemfontein in South Africa as well as teams from Selkirk, Edinburgh, Oxford University, the Newcastle Falcons and many more.
The concept of the seven-a-side matches has been credited to the rugby club's Ned Haig who needed to come up with a scheme to boost the club's finances. Around 100 years ago he said: "It was hopeless to think of having several games in one afternoon with fifteen players on each side, so the teams were reduced to seven men."
Available to visit throughout the year is the vast ruin of Melrose Abbey. Founded in 1136 by King David I, the abbey was the first Cistercian settlement in Scotland and was repeatedly destroyed by the English in the 14th century.
It was subsequently rebuilt by Robert the Bruce whose heart is said to be buried here - and after an excavation in 1997 to try and substantiate this, a special commemorative stone was put on display.
South of the abbey and run by the National Trust for Scotland is Priorwood Garden and Dried Flower Shop. It has a garden with an orchard where you can see historic apple varieties dating back to medieval times being grown organically, and the shop sells dried flowers, organic vegetable produce in season and home-grown plants.
Anyone looking to find out more about Melrose's Roman past will be interested to hear of the Trimontium Exhibition which is permanently on display just off Market Square and tells the story of the Roman fort of Trimontium, meaning three hills.
There is also a guided Trimontium Walk which covers various Roman sites in the area along its four mile circular route and takes around three and a half hours.
Melrose also boasts literary connections, as Sir Walter Scott built the stately home of Abbotsford in a spectacular setting around three miles west of the town, and lived there for 20 years until his death.
These days the town maintains it cultural profile with the Wynd Theatre, an intimate 100-seater arts venue which showcases everything from small touring theatre groups to contemporary dance and folk music.
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