We decided to drive out to a small village called Smailholm where David's mum was born. On the outskirts of the village there is a tower offering great views but as we got closer the road was so muddy that we decided better not to get the car stuck there. Our drive through Kelso yesterday inspired us to have a closer look at the town. We had a walk around the town centre and visited the Abbey, which for our surprise was both open and free to enter, unlike Floor...

We woke up to a beautiful sunny day on Friday morning. However the wind was blowing and made the day rather cold. We visited Scotts Park in Galashiels very briefly, there was not so much to see at this time of the year. Our main reason to drive to the big city was for David to get a haircut and shave, but the barber we had looked up before seemed to have a closed sign on the door. So off we were back to Melrose but this time we drove past the house were David's g...

We drove into Galashiels (the "big city" close by) to have a little walk around the centre and to buy some groceries for the dinner. After lunch David's dad had planned a nice Tiki Tour for us around some of the sights in the Borders. The first stop was Scott's View - apparently Sir Walter Scott always stopped here to admire the view of the rolling hills (the Eildons) and the River Tweed below. The legend also says that at his funeral his horse stopped at the ver...

After a leisurely breakfast, we walked down the hill into the village for a nosey around. Melrose is actually designated a town but with only 5,000 inhabitants and a couple of streets with shops it has the feel of a village. It is also home to Melrose Abbey, one of the four main abbeys in the Border region, and said to have the heart of Robert the Bruce buried within it. The 'town' is built on the banks of the River Tweed, very famous for salmon fishing. There ha...

With multiple alarms buzzing & ringing, it was another 5am start to our day. We should be getting used to them by now, but no, it's still hard to drag yourself out of bed at that time of day despite the excitement of a trip ahead. We are getting more proficient in airport, having everything on hand for check in and everything tucked away for security screening - David didn't even get the usual 'you have been picked at random' for a second search - so there wa...