A Legend of MELROSE
On a frosty winter morning, when the gently undulating hills of the Scottish Borders are dusted white and the yellows and russets of the last leaves glow in the low sunlight, it is easy to see how Sir Walter Scott was captivated by the beautiful Tweed Valley, just south of Galashiels and Melrose, and why he chose to make it his home. Between 1812 and the mid-1820s, he transformed a simple farmhouse into an elaborate, turreted, Scottish baronial mansion that he renamed Abbotsford. Scott also quickly acquired a considerable estate, and took a keen interest in the planting of many trees for shelter and to improve the appearance of the landscape. In the areas surrounding the house, however, he eschewed the fashion
