Visitor Attractions
Jedburgh Abbey
...Ravaged by time and warfare, Jedburgh Abbey remains one of the country's most spectacular ancient monuments.
It was founded as a priory in 1138 by King David I who intended to prove to Scots and English alike that he could create buildings on a magnificent scale even on the fringes of his realm.
Now in the care of Historic Scotland, the abbey is one of the most impressive attractions for visitors to the Borders. Standing high on the left bank of the Jed Water, it has endured a turbulent 900 year history.
The full story of the Augustinian abbey, its treatment by passing English and Scottish armies and its final dissolution in the Reformation, is told on the video shown in the visitor information centre. Among the items on display are the beautiful Jedburgh Comb, beautifully carved in ivory and dating to around 1100 and a series of early Christian carved stones.
Car parking is available, there is also a picnic area and facilities for disabled visitors.
Opening Hours:
1 April - 30 September
Monday to Sunday: 9.30am - 6.30pm
1 October - 31 March
Monday to Saturday: 9.30am - 4.30pm
Sunday: 2.00pm - 4.30pm
Last admissions 30 minutes before closing
Admission charged. Tel: 01835 863925
...On the original site of the castle of Jedburgh, the 19th century jail is the only remaining example left in Scotland of a Howard Reform prison. The Jail was built in 1820 to a design by Archibald Elliot, one of the most fashionable architects of the day. The Museum now illustrates the history of Jedburgh and prison life in reconstructed rooms using audio visual period artifacts.
Opening Hours:
Easter - 31 October
Monday to Saturday: 10.00am - 4.30pm
Sunday: 1.00pm - 4.00pm
Admission charged. Tel: 01835 864750
Mary Queen of Scots House
...The young Mary Stuart arrived in Jedburgh in 1566 to hold a Circuit Court, and a 16th Century bastel house (fortified house) was put at her disposal. Hearing that Lord Bothwell lay wounded at Hermitage Castle, Mary set out on an arduous return journey of 40 miles to visit him. She arrived back from a dreich moorland ride, ill and close to death and is later said to have remarked "Would that I had died in Jedburgh", as her troubles crowded upon her.
A visitor centre now protrays the poignant story of the Queen's tragic life with thought provoking interpretation and includes her death mask, said to have been taken from her decapitated body at Fotheringay Castle.
Opening Hours:
1 March - 30 November
Monday to Saturday: 10.00am - 4.30pm
Sunday: 12.00noon - 4.30pm
Admission charged. Tel: 01835 863331
www.marie-stuart.co.uk
Hutton's Unconformity
...By walking South along the A68 Newcastle Road or through Lothian Park, you arrive at a place called Inchbonny where you will find "Hutton's Unconformity". This is one of the most important geological sites in the world.
James Hutton, a farmer and doctor from Duns in Berwickshire, conceived a theory about the formation of the Earth based upon what he saw in the geological formation of the ground on Arran, at Siccar Point on the Berwickshire coast and here at Inchbonny. Whilst visiting Allar's Mill on the Jed Water, Hutton was delighted to see horizontal bands of red sandstone lying 'unconformably' on top of near vertical and folded bands of rock. He published his "Theory of the Earth" in 1788 and has since become known as the 'founding father' of modern geology.
Scotland and England were once separate landmasses divided by a deep ocean. Over 450 million years ago, they collided causing vertical bands, then sediment was laid down during the next few million years forming bands of sandstone. Hutton was not able to date the geological events as we can today and he thought the sandstone had been deposited in the sea. It must be remembered that he lived in a time where the age of the world was estimated to be between 6,000 and 40,000 years old. Based on what he learned at Inchbonny, Hutton challenged the established philosophical and theological order when he "looked through the abyss of time and found no vestige of a beginning and no prospect of an end" and realised that the formations he found here required the Earth to be very old indeed.
The Capon Tree
The Capon Tree, a hollow oak, is one of the last survivors of the ancient Jed Forest, and could be 1,000 years old. It's one of the 50 most significant trees in the UK. It gets its name from the Capuchin monks who sheltered under it as they travelled to Jedburgh Abbey. It's very possible that the poet James Thomson was inspired by the Capon Tree as he wrote "The Seasons" based on his travels around the Jed Valley. The Capon Tree features in the ceremonial of the Jethart Callant's Festival.
The Capon Tree is situated on the banks of the River Jed less than 2 miles (3km) south of the town centre. Reach it by a pleasant walk of 15 minutes, following the main road south (A68), on pavements all the way, starting from the 1st bridge (near the Abbey) and it�s on the right just after the 3rd bridge. (Inhabitants of Jedburgh use the 4 crossings of the River Jed just to the south as a measure of distance from the town - you'll hear peple talking about the 2nd bridge or the 4th bridge).
On the way, you pass the "Huttonian Singular Unconformity", one of the most important geological sites in the world.
Fifty Great British Trees were selected by the national conservation body (the Tree Council) in tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II - as a special way to mark the Golden Jubilee. From the oldest and the rarest to some of the most historically or culturally famous they highlight the fundamental importance of trees to the national heritage and form a link between past and present. The 50 trees are all either impressively large, ancient, rare, striking and the stuff of history and legend. The Capon Tree is one of the six most significant in Scotland, and it ranks alongside trees such as the Fortingall Yew (the oldest living organism in Europe, possibly the world).
Denholm Village
The village of Denholm is situated in a beautiful part of Teviotdale in the Scottish Borders, about halfway between the towns of Hawick and Jedburgh. It lies in gentle rolling countryside between Ruberslaw and the Minto Hills, volcanic outcrops which thrust up through the underlying Old Red Sandstone.
The original settlement of 'Denum' was sited 'at the valleys' where the broad valley of the River Teviot meets the narrow glen of the Dean Burn. The early hamlet was plundered and burnt during English raids of the 16th century. The village we see today dates from the 17th century when it was laid out around the Green.
Denholm is a Conservation Area listed as a planned village as opposed to the traditional unplanned or organic form of village usually found in Roxburghshire.'
The village is built around the Green, which in days gone by was let for grazing to the butchers or smallholders. In the middle of the Green stands Leyden's Monument which was erected in 1861. The Green has always been at the heart of village life. Weekly and half-weekly fairs used to be held here. Part of the base of an old mercat cross can still be seen inside the railings surrounding the monument. The cross itself was removed and the base hollowed out sometime in the 19th century to make a water trough for cattle!
VISIT WEBSITE
The original settlement of 'Denum' was sited 'at the valleys' where the broad valley of the River Teviot meets the narrow glen of the Dean Burn. The early hamlet was plundered and burnt during English raids of the 16th century. The village we see today dates from the 17th century when it was laid out around the Green.
Denholm is a Conservation Area listed as a planned village as opposed to the traditional unplanned or organic form of village usually found in Roxburghshire.'
The village is built around the Green, which in days gone by was let for grazing to the butchers or smallholders. In the middle of the Green stands Leyden's Monument which was erected in 1861. The Green has always been at the heart of village life. Weekly and half-weekly fairs used to be held here. Part of the base of an old mercat cross can still be seen inside the railings surrounding the monument. The cross itself was removed and the base hollowed out sometime in the 19th century to make a water trough for cattle!
VISIT WEBSITE