Melrose is the handsome one — a compact town beneath the three humps of the Eildon Hills, built around the pink-red ruins of its abbey. Founded in 1136 by David I, Melrose Abbey is where Robert the Bruce’s embalmed heart is thought to lie, and it’s now in the care of Historic Environment Scotland. Tweedbank station, a couple of km west, puts it back on the rail map via the Borders Railway.
