Historic Borders Towns – Jedburgh

Malc — Wed, 22 Jun 2022 13:11:09 +0000

The Scottish Borders is steeped in History

With many towns given privileged status as Royal Burgh’s appointed by the Scottish Kings and Queens.

One such town is the Royal Burgh of Jedburgh.

Jedburgh was appointed Royal status by King Alexander II in 1214…

Visit Jedburgh in your Zoom Motorhome Hire vehicle for a day trip steeped in Scottish History.

Already home to the finest monastic Augustinian Abbeys founded and built by King David I in 1138. The Abbey has been the centre piece of the town for over 900 years. The Abbey played host to generations of Royal Kings and Queens for centuries and played witness to the many atrocities during the longstanding wars between Scotland and England. Reduced to it’s current shell by the Earls of Surrey and Hertford with the full blessing of King Henry VIII in 1523 and 1544 respectively, the Abbey still plays host to local important ceremonies. An imposing building with the finest stonework is still something to be celebrated in the Royal Burgh of Jedburgh and well worth a visit.

We recently took a trip to Jedburgh in our Motorhome to visit Jedburgh Castle Jail…

A model for modern jails today and a major improvement for the prisoners to say the least. The medieval town has a small picturesque town centre with lots of small independent shops, cafes and pubs. And with plenty of free parking (yes free) you can easily spend the day without the worry of being charged a fortune to park your motorhome. They also have Electric car charging points too which is a nice bonus for those with EV’s.

Naked Sourdough Cafe – Artisan Baker…

Before visiting the Jail, we decided to search out the ‘Naked Sourdough’ a small Artisan bakery / café with excellent freshly made produce. Not the easiest to find however, fire it in Google maps and it’s a 5-minute walk down the High Street from the main carpark. The staff were so welcoming and the smell of freshly baked goods was a delight to the senses. We we’re lucky enough to get a seat inside (it’s quite small and very popular so you might not always be lucky enough to sit in) however they also have seating outside, weather dependent! The menu is small but all made to order and the dishes we ordered were of the finest quality.

I ordered a sourdough bruschetta with tomato, basil and burrata cheese, seriously the finest bruschetta I have ever eaten and the burrata was so fresh I suspect I will struggle to get a finer bruschetta anywhere else. My partner had a smashed Avocado, grilled Halloumi with homemade Chimichurri on sour dough toast, again the finest ingredients, presented beautifully and super tasty. We rounded things off with a slice of Victoria Sponge and Coffee and Walnut cake which was absolutely delicious. An absolute must visit in Jedburgh – we will certainly be back soon.

Jedburgh Castle Jail…

Satisfied on a full stomach we headed back up the street to find Jedburgh Jail – the real reason we visited Jedburgh. The Jail is situated on Gallows Hill (aptly named) which overlooks the town and Abbey. You would be forgiven for thinking it was a medieval Castle, rather than a 18^th century Jail. The stonework and building is in good order and a very impressive building given it’s main purpose. The building is thought to be one of the most haunted buildings in Scotland and does have that feel to it. The jail is free to enter (although you might not get back out…) and you can easily spend a good 3 hours exploring the many cells, jailers’ quarters and reems of information and small local museum pieces to name a few. We really were impressed by the Jail and reforms of the time to help improve the conditions for both Adults and Children in a bid to reform them into law abiding citizens.

After the jail we took a walk around the Abbey in all its splendour – I have to admit I found it to be more impressive than Melrose Abbey which gets most of the attention from those visiting the Scottish Borders. The sheer size itself is impressive and the completeness of the structure were also impressive. Again, a must see and hard to ignore when visiting Jedburgh.

By this point we were well fed, watered and steeped in history and ready for the 40min journey back home to Peebles…

For those who enjoy history, good food and friendly people Jedburgh is the place for you and certainly not to be missed when exploring the Scottish Borders. We highly recommend that our hirers visiting Scotland take a trip to Jedburgh in one of our luxury motorhomes – you will not be disappointed.

Those considering a motorhome hire or campervan hire holiday this year should head over to our booking page to secure dates in our fully equipped luxury motorhomes for hire. We include everything you need for a luxury break as standard, you can literally bring clothes and buy food! Not the norm for motorhome hire or campervan hire in Scotland. Don’t miss out book today at Zoom Motorhome Hire