England-Scotland Day 3 (Part 1) – York to Jedburgh

5 April 2010

Day 3 required some long distance (about 310 km) driving from York to Edinburgh where we stayed for 2 nights. Along the way, we stopped by Jedburgh and also visited the Rosslyn Chapel, which is located south of Edinburgh.

The journey to Jedburgh took slightly over 3 hours, through a combination of A1 motorway towards Newcastle, round the “ring road” bypassing Newcastle and then followed by A68 towards Jedburgh. A68 passes through the town and we followed the road signs to the Jedburgh Abbey.

We parked the car at a public car park next to the river, across from Jedburgh Abbey, a prominent tourist spot in this town. An information board described how Jedburgh got its name. It used to be called “Jedworth” – meaning “an open space by a twist in the river”. Later, it was given the status of a “burgh” – a place with special privileges granted by the King. Hence Jedburgh.

View of Jedburgh Abbey and Mill House from the car park.

We crossed the stone bridge and walked pass the abbey on the way to the town centre or market place.

Jedburgh Abbey Mill. Scottish flag reminding us that we have crossed the border into Scotland.

Jedburgh Abbey, Scotland.

Jedburgh has a few other interesting sites such as the Castle Jail and Mary Queen of Scots Visitor Centre. Our main focus was to look for a place to have lunch.

We walked past the Castle Jail and Museum but did not venture inside.

Soon to be obsoleted red telephone box on the way to the Market Place.

Colourful houses at the Jedburgh Market Place.

Town was quiet and almost deserted.

In commemoration of Golden Jubilee of the reign of Queen Victoria 1887.

Vintage looking postbox at Jedburgh. Soon to be obsoleted too?

It was about 2 PM when we had our lunch.

Coffee with love – at the restaurant serving fish and chips.

From Jedburgh, we continued up the A68 towards Edinburgh. We decided to go to the small town of Roslin, to see the Rosslyn Chapel which is a location featured in the book and movie “Da Vinci Code”.

Roslin is located on the outskirt of Edinburgh. It required a short detour off the A68, through some smaller A-roads and residential areas to get there. It was not difficult to find, thanks to signposts and directions from the Rosslyn Chapel website. 

From the car park at the Rosslyn Chapel, we walked towards the historic and famous building but it was shrouded in tarpaulin and scaffoldings. A major restoration was in progress, so no photos of the chapel from the outside. The admission fees into the chapel was steep, and it was almost closing time. So we decided not go into the chapel but just took a walk and look from the outside.

Then, it was off to Edinburgh which is about an hour away from Roslin.