Melrose Abbey

Melrose Abbey is an Historic Scotland property so if you are a member it’s free entry to a piece of Scotland past for you to wander around, if you aren’t a member then it’s £5.50 per person entry fee to wander around the ruins of a gothic style church and entry to a museum charting the history of the abbey.
You can easily spend an hour going around the site and if you are happy with tight spaces and heights then you can venture onto the roof viewpoint that gives you a view around the borders. Unfortunately I am not good with heights and my partner isn’t good with tight spaces so we couldn;t take this opportunity.

Visited April 2015: «Border town attraction»
We didn’t think we were going to spend a great deal of time at Melrose Abbey, due to it being a ruin but there was more to do then our first glance. For one, we were able to walk up a very narrow staircase, to the top of the church. You were able to see the entire village, and not feel overwhelmed by the height. Robert Bruce’s heart is buried there. We were not provided or offered an audio guide

As Scottish church ruins go, Melrose Abbey is top of the line! Much more interesting and scenic than St. Andrews Cathedral for what it actually is TODAY — not for what it once was. Great photo opportunity, too. See my photos for reference.
This attraction is included in many 1-​day coach tours that start off from Edinburgh (mine was by The Highland Experience Tours). Is it worth the trip from Edinburgh on your own (by bus or train)? Well, not really, as you won’t spend more than 1 hour max exploring the grounds of Melrose Abbey. And the village of Melrose itself, let’s just say that it’s a sleepy little hovel between someplace A and nowhere B. But as part of such an organized coach trip, it’s well worth your time. The entrance is moderate (5.50 — minus 11% if you’re in a group), you can take as many pictures as you’d like.
What distinguishes Melrose Abbey from, say, St. Andrews Cathedral, is that a large part of the once mighty construction has survived! So there’s actually something to see other than just bricks on the ground that indicate former walls and towers. What’s left is enough to let you feel the actual impact the original abbey must have made on visitors.
Included in the ticket price is an audio guide. You’ll get it when entering through the shop, which is also the ticket office. Since just a couple of clerks are responsible for BOTH shop and tickets you’ll find that the simultaneous arrival of two or more bus groups, which is not uncommon, mixed with people who want to get out and buy books or less useful items in the shop, will create an *interesting* situation. Well, that’s that particular brand of British efficiency.

I loved my visit here with my husband during our honeymoon. I found the audio guide to be very well made as I was able to follow it from room to room. I learned so much about the abbey and found the monk’s daily routine to be extermely interesting. Even though it was cold and a little rainy, hubby and I really enjoyed our visit.
Side note: When we first walked into the abbey, I got really annoyed that everyone was on their cell phones! but up close, I realized that it was the audio guide! DOH, I joined them quickly.

Melrose Abbey ist wahrscheinlich die berühmteste Ruine in
Schottland. Bereits um 1136 wurde das ehemalige Zisterzienserkloster von David I. erbaut. Schon früh galt das Kloster dank der vielen
Stiftungen und dank seines Handels mit Wolle und Tierhäuten mit Flandern als eine der reichsten Abtein Schottlands. Die Abbey blickt dabei auf eine sehr wechselvolle Geschichte zurück, wie sie für Schottland so typisch ist.
Wiederholt
wurde die Anlage von den Engländern überfallen, am brutalsten von Richard II. in 1385 und
während der Zeit des War of the Rough Wooing 1545.
Berühmt geworden ist das Kloster vor allem als letzte Ruhestätte für das Herz von Robert the Bruce, einem der bedeutensten Könige Schottlands und dem heutigen Nationalhelden schlechthin. Als der König
1329 im Sterben lag, bat er James Douglas, sein Herz ins Heilige Land zu
bringen, um so ein altes Gelübde zu erfüllen. Douglas erreichte das
Heilige Land nicht er wurde beim Kampf gegen die Mauren in Spanien
getötet deshalb kehrte Bruces Herz nach Schottland zurück. Die
Schatulle mit dem Herzen des Königs wurde in Melrose beerdigt. Es wurde
1996 exhumiert und in einer spezial angefertigten Bleischatulle wieder
beerdigt.