And there she was! Standing proudly in amongst the blooms of the town square (triangle?) the beautiful unicorn topped mercat cross! 🦄
Details of the Mercat Cross:
17th century, dated 1645, with fresh pieces added in the 20th century.
Unicorn finial. A fine example with great detail. The unicorn, sat up on hind legs, rests both front hoofs onto a shield depicting the Lion Rampant. Details on the finials base include the mercat cross origin date ‘1645’ and symbols including crossed swords. It’s really nice!
There’s a sundial! Though I didn’t pay attention (it’s been a while)..
Close to the mercat cross is a large carved circle on the ground with the three names of the town, Trimontium, Melrose, Mail-Ros.
There’s a whole museum dedicated to the town as Trimontium from it’s time as a Roman settlement. There is also some information about this at the wee museum attached to Melrose Abbey.
How to get here from Edinburgh:
🚉 Get the train from Edinburgh Waverley – Tweedbank. We visited on a Saturday and trains were running every 30 minutes. The journey is 1 hour.
🚌 Once in Tweedbank get the #67 or #68 bus and ask for Melrose Abbey. Cheaper to get a return ticket so if getting the bus, ask for a return. The bus is fairly regular and takes 13 minutes to get to the Abbey. The drivers, used to hoardes of tourists, were really friendly and helped us know where to go. Highly recommend the Abbey (Historic Environment Scotland) alongside any Mercat Cross quest.
One more thing…
Whilst you are there, pop into the reopened Melrose Abbey, spot a big pig and pay homage to Robert the Bruce, whose heart lies at rest within the ancient grounds.
On a trip to Dunfermline Abbey a few years ago we joined a great tour from one of the Abbey’s guides. There, we learnt about Robert the Bruce’s final resting place and that his heart was at Melrose Abbey after a complicated journey to bring his heart on a crusade.
