Abbotsford House

Abbotsford House, former home of the novelist and poet Sir Walter Scott, Melrose, Scottish Borders, Scotland, UK | © Ian Dagnall / Alamy Stock Photo
A handsome home draped in ideas and epiphanies, exploring Abbotsford House and its blissful fragrant gardens is like entering into the subconscious of Sir Walter Scott. Each stone slab, each meticulously picked collectible, each minute yet compelling detail, offers a fleeting snippet of his many ponderings, idiosyncrasies and interests. Described by this prolific 19th-century Scots writer as ‘romance in stone and mortar’, Scott bought the land in 1811 and built the house as we view it today in three stages, before planting tribes of trees and renaming it Abbotsford. As expected, the library is a book-lover’s dream. Live like royalty by booking a stay in a wing of this stately home.