Abbeys Melrose, Dryburgh, or Jedburgh preference

We went to all three a few years back, and in truth I can't remember one from another, and I couldn't be sure when looking at my photos. I would suggest that unless you are an aficionado, you should probably visit the ones that make most sense in terms of fitting into your overall itinerary.

I would put Jedburgh at the top of the list. It is the most extensive and had the most information, or at least it did when I visited. If you stay in Melrose you can walk through some of the grounds of the Abbey at night. That's what I did. And you're missing one, Kelso. It's not an Historic Scotland property so that's why you may have missed it. Of course, Sir Walter Scott is buried at Dryburgh, if you need to make a pilgrimage. Also, Jedburgh has other things that are interesting to visit. I didn't plan my trip well enough to explore them, but you might find something of interest.

We did Jedburgh first. It had a nice audio guide and was very well done. (We also visited the Mary Queen of Scots house in Jedburgh.) Melrose also had a nice audio guide and we enjoyed our tour. The abbeys are similar but it was interesting to see the differences (e. g., diferences in orders). Both abbeys are essentially in town. Dryburgh is more rural. It is very peaceful. I'm glad that we went there are well. We went through it quite quickly -- we were "abbeyed out" by then! We did not visit Kelso. We stayed in Jedburgh. It was a pretty quiet town but we liked it.

My favorite Scottish Abbey was Sweetheart in Dumfries. It still has a rural setting. I can't remember if I saw Dryburgh... we were driving everywhere!

It's a long way from Melrose to Sweetheart Abbey. : ) It's a two hour drive plus the viamichelin 25% longer estimate. Someday, I liked to visit Sweetheart Abbey and the Dumphries Galloway area. I almost made it there a few years ago, but got swayed to the Trossachs instead. :)

Pam

We love Dryburgh becasue it has an atmospheric setting out in the country and next to a river. The other two are in towns.

Thank you for your opinions, everyone. Time will dictate which abbeys we get to see. Melrose and Jedburgh are closest to Melrose, which is where we're staying.