After finishing our time traversing the English countryside, we started our transition into Scotland. Before crossing the border, we made one more stop along Hadrian’s Wall, this time to check out the ruins of Birdoswald Roman Fort. This is one of the most extensive remains of a Roman Fort along the wall, and a great place to see the longest surviving stretch of the wall. The approximately 80 mile wall had a ‘milecastle’, at every mile; two observation towers between each milecastle; and 17 larger forts spread across the span. This fort was built in 112 AD and abandoned in 500 AD, and was designed to house about 800 soldiers who manned the mile castles and observation towers along the wall.

The drive into the borders area of Scotland was spectacular! We went miles without another car in site and enjoyed the beautiful and wild landscape along the way. Since we were mainly on small backroads (thanks google maps!), we really weren’t sure if we’d know when we crossed over, but did see this sign along the way.

We enjoyed a short stay in the charming town of Melrose in the borders and took time to explore the ruins of Melrose Abbey (more evidence of Henry VIII’s dismantling of the Catholic Church); as well as Abbotsford, the beautiful estate of Sir Walter Scott, the famous historical novelist (e.g. Ivanhoe) and important Scottish figure. Although born in humble circumstances, he was very successful in his lifetime (hence his elaborate home). He did end up losing almost everything when his printer went bankrupt and he had to assume their debts. After all his success, he spent his final years writing as much as he could to enable his family estate to remain intact.