Melrose Abbey

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The town of Melrose in the Scottish Borders is famous for the birthplace of Rugby Sevens and for the ruins of the 12th Century Cistercian Abbey.  The Abbey was founded in 1136 by King David I and it was largely destroyed by the English Army of Richard II in1385.  The Abbey was rebuilt and what remains is mainly from the early 15th Century and is reputed to be the most beautiful monastic ruins in Great Britain.

 Melrose Abbey is also the place where the heart of Robert the Bruce is buried. The Scottish King was buried at Dumfermline Abbey after his death in 1329 but the king requested his heart be buried in Melrose.

 An excavation was led to find a sealed casket, but it was not opened, and it was actually discovered by high school students involved in the dig. The casket was placed in a sealed lead cylinder, and was then re-buried in the abbey back at its proper resting place.


We arrived for our visit late in the afternoon on Saturday 4 March and we pretty much had the place to ourselves.  Walking around the ruins you could only marvel at the high vaulted ceilings and carvings and only imagine what the Abbey would have looked like at the height of its power.

 As I walked about the ruins I used the Fujifilm X100T, set to Classic Chrome film simulation, to take a set of images showing the magnificence of the abbey ruins.


The last monk died in 1590 but the church remained in use until 1810.  The church yard contained many 19th and even 20th century grave stones pointing to this fact that the sacred grounds of Melrose Abbey were still being used.

 Melrose Abbey is looked after by Historic Scotland and there is an entrance fee of £5.50 for adults, with concessions available.  The ticket price also includes a free and very useful audio guide.  For more information visit the Historic Scotland website HERE

Here are some more images from our trip to Melrose Abbey - 












































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ALL IMAGES (UNLESS INDICATED) ARE THE PROPERTY OF MACLEAN PHOTOGRAPHIC AND CANNOT BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION



MacLean Photographic run Tours and Workshops in East Lothian and the Borders of Scotland.  CLICK HERE for more details and availability


Jeff Carter is an Official Fujifilm X Photographer and was named as a Fujifilm brand ambassador in June 2015. In 2016 he worked with the company on the launches of the Fujifilm X-Pro2 in Tokyo and the Fujifilm X-T2 in Paris in July 2016.  You can view his profile and gallery on the Fujifilm website HERE

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Location: Abbey St, Melrose TD6 9LG, UK

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