This whole area around Melrose is visually dominated by the Eildon Hills, three large hills that rise sharply out of the surrounding landscape. The hills are laccoliths, which are volcanic eruptions that never made it to the surface; the magma cools between layers of other rock, which are subsequently eroded away.
The northern-most hill, Eildon Hill North, is on the edge of town, and forms a backdrop to many scenes in Melrose. Here is Eildon Hill North with Melrose Abbey in the foreground.
The largest of the three is Eildon Mid Hill, and the smallest is Eildon Wester Hill. On the west side of the saddle between Eildon Mid Hill and Eildon Wester Hill there is a small hump called Little Hill; Little Hill was formed in more recent geological times than the others, and by a different geological process.
Due to the arrangement of the hills, only Eildon Hill North and Eildon Mid Hill can generally be seen from the immediate area of Melrose; however, all three can be seen from other districts, such as nearby Scott's View, a viewpoint loved by Sir Walter Scott, who lived in this area.
The hills can be see from tens of kilometres around, and, conversely, the view from the top extends out to tens of kilometres, across the rolling hills covered in fields of barley and wheat,
sheep pasture, and patches of Scott's pine plantations. This is the view from Eildon Hill North looking past Wester Hill.
The hills are covered in heather, which is just staring to flower.
When it is all out in flower the hills should be covered in purple patches. We should still be here when this happens; if we are, I'll post a photo of it here.
Chris (Saturday, 08 August 2015 08:45)
Thanks for the long post, Jim. There's thousands of kilometres of drystone walls in the British Isles; I'll keep my eyes open for an especially good bit!
Jim Aubrey (Saturday, 08 August 2015 02:13)
Posts are really interesting, Chris. Succinct and colourful, a nice sweep of history, past and present, across rolling green fields and picturesque villages with characters, two-legged and four-legged. Love the slate-roofed rose-stone cottages in Melrose and Darnick. Can you please bring one back for me? And I’m still googling Melrose Abbey…such a fascinating history – the embalmed heart of Robert the Bruce unearthed as recently as 1996. Equally interesting, the Parisian master mason John Morrow’s inscription said to be the motto of Melrose "Be halde to ye hende (Keep in mind, the end, your salvation)". Can you find out where the stone for the abbey and cottages is from? And waiting for a photo of a great dry stone wall…the best one you find…must be as plentiful there as the cockatoos out my window here. Looking forward to more posts. And by the way, it is freezing here - wearing my thermal ski jacket in Brisbane!