We spent a lovely couple of days in the Scottish Borders, visiting bookshops and ruined abbeys.
We stayed at Dryburgh Abbey Hotel where, as a bonus, we were upgraded to a suite on the third floor with beautiful views of the River Tweed and the ruined abbey. We have looked round Dryburgh Abbey a few times before but couldn't resist a quick return visit as we were only a few yards away.
But our main target for this visit was Melrose Abbey. Our previous two attempts to look round this abbey were both marred by weather: the first time we were subject to very heavy rain, the second was one of the hottest summer days of the past few years. This time, the weather was 'just right'.
We also visited the adjacent Priorwood Garden which had plenty to enjoy. The apple trees were laden with fruit while other plants were clearly reaching the end of their season, producing beautiful seed heads.
Leaving Melrose after a bite of lunch we made our way to St Mary's Loch and then Moffat, before heading home.