Ah, Dryburgh Abbey.
Back in the day, Joyce and I had made a reservation at the Dryburgh Abbey hotel. It is in the country. We arrived late at night and parked in the parking lot up against the obligatory old stone wall.. We checked in and the place was lovely. It was as if we were staying in a stately home, obviously old, furnishings and interior somewhat dated, creaky stairs, a bit musty smelling, all the makings of a good suspense movie. We loved it.
I wondered as we arrived, this being the Dryburgh Abbey hotel, where was the Abbey? Well, next morning as we walked to the car, there it was, just the other side of the aforementioned stone wall.
Permit me to share just a few memories.
This was at a time when wifi was just getting to be a thing. The hotel advertised “Free Wifi.” They did have wifi, and it was free, but the only place it worked was near, and sometimes on, the couch in the lounge. We got to meet some really nice folks sharing the free wifi.
Mike Dreyspring take note: The rooms were named after flies, fishing flies. Enlarged replicas of the flies were prominently mounted on the door of each room.. Did I mention the River Tweed was just a stone’s throw away?
This is Sir Walter Scott country, Abbotsford his home is not far away. We were some of the last people allowed in as it was going to be renovated and reconstruction would start soon. You can stay there now. Their wifi probably works all over.😎
Fellow free wifi sharers turned out to be a dance company from Canada making a movie/video in the ancient Abbey grounds just across the parking lot. I would have liked to have seen it.
We had dinner in the dining room one evening. One had to dress for dinner. I prefer to order something that I can’t get at home, so I ordered the mackerel. After the waiter had left, I said to Joyce, “I wonder if that’s a fillet?” It was not! It just lay there looking at me the whole time. We ate in the Bistro Bar the remaining evenings.
Oh the Abbey: It was founded on 10 November 1150. That is the year, not the time.☺ It was burned by English troops in 1322, rebuilt and then destroyed again by Richard ll in 1385, rebuilt and then finally destroyed in 1544.
My apologies, what started out as a shared image has turned into a trip down memory lane, and a history lesson.