At the start of the 12th century, Scotland experienced a religious revival under King David I.   In the Scottish Borders he founded monasteries for the Black Canons of the Augustinian order at Jedburgh, the White Monks of the Cistercian order at Melrose, the White Canons of the Premonstratensian order at Dryburgh and the Black Monks of the Tironensian order at Kelso.   Granted massive estates of some of the richest farmland in Scotland, the Border Abbeys prospered until the Wars of Independence with England, which erupted in 1296.   During the centuries of conflict that followed, each of the four abbeys was razed and rebuilt several times.   The monasteries met their final end in the 1540s during Henry VIII’s ‘rough wooing’.   Shortly after this, Scotland went through a religious reformation and they were left to decay.

The Borders Abbeys Way is a circular route linking the four great ruined monasteries at Jedburgh, Melrose, Dryburgh and Kelso.   Highlights of the walk include Jedburgh’s vast abbey church; the outstanding sculptural detailing of Melrose Abbey ranging from the statue of the Virgin and Child to humorous gargoyles including a pig playing the bagpipes; the romantic setting and outstanding domestic architecture of Dryburgh Abbey; the wonderful Borders countryside of rounded green hills, wooded riverbanks, pine-scented forests and rich farmland; Mary Queen of Scots’ House, a beautiful 16th century building of rough-hewn stone; Jedburgh Castle Jail, an imposing 19th century Howard Reform prison; the views of Floors Castle, a romantic fairytale castle of turrets, pinnacles and cupolas overlooking the Tweed; the shattered remains of Roxburgh Castle, once the strongest fortress in Scotland; the remarkable stained glass windows of Bedrule Kirk; the riverside paths of the Tweed and the Teviot; the wonderful viewpoints of Black Law, the Bishop’s Stone and Cauldshiels Loch; Abbotsford, the delightful “Conundrum Castle” built by Sir Walter Scott on the banks of the Tweed; and the historic market towns of Melrose, Jedburgh, Selkirk and Kelso.