Arcadia Scotland

This past Saturday a group of lively students set out for an adventure in the Scottish Borders.  This region between Scotland and England boasts stunning scenery, historic buildings and a wealth of Scottish history, so we had a lot on the agenda for the day!

Departing from the Edinburgh Center, we made our way through the rolling hills and picturesque scenery, towards Traquair House. Traquair House is the oldest inhabited home on Scotland and, with guided tours, we had the chance to view the amazing collections, find our way in and out of the maze, take the secret stairway in the house and hang out with the peacocks and other livestock!

Following our adventure at Traquair House, we headed towards Melrose for some lunch and a visit to the ruins of the Cistercian abbey there.  The ruins of Melrose Abbey date from the 12th century and present not only amazing Gothic forms, but also house what is believed to be the heart of Robert the Bruce.

After running around the grounds of Melrose Abbey and racing up the tower, we got back on the coach and headed for our last stop of the day - Rosslyn Chapel.  Perhaps most well-know because of Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, we heard a more accurate version of the chapel's history, gazed at the amazing carvings and had time to stroke Rosslyn Chapel's cat, William. 

After such a full day, we made our way back to Edinburgh and then on to our Scottish universities.  Our day was filled with incredible architecture, narratives of Scottish history and, amazingly, only a few drops of rain.  While we had a great day out, we are already looking forward to next week's trip to the Firbush Outdoor Centre and the other events still to come!