The lovely town of Melrose lies at the foot of the Eildon Hills and is the birthplace of Rugby Sevens. The town is popular with visitors and highlights include Melrose Abbey which dates back to 1136 and is the site of a casket reputedly containing the heart of Robert the Bruce. The Trimontium Museum is dedicated to Roman life in Scotland and the fact that the Roman army built a fort near Melrose in AD79. The National Trust for Scotland has two gardens in Melrose, Priorwood with its apple orchard and dried flower garden and Harmony, a beautiful walled garden with magnificent views of the Abbey that is also the location for the literary extravaganza that is the Borders Book Festival. And just three miles away is Abbotsford, Sir Walter Scott’s romantic mansion on the banks of the Tweed. And be sure to take time to stroll around the quaint streets and upmarket specialist shops of Melrose. Lauder is home to turreted and towered Scots baronial Thirlestane Castle, one of the seven ‘Great Houses in Scotland’ and the town is also popular with walkers as the Southern Upland Way long distance footpath passes by Lauder.