MELROSE, SCOTLAND

'Melrose' is a small, historic town in the Scottish Borders. The town's name may be derived from the Celtic ''mail-rhos'', meaning a cropped meadow, or the symbol left by the abbey's stone masons on its walls of a ''mel'' (a mallet) above a rose (verification needed). It is in the Eildon committee area, and was in the former county of Roxburghshire.
Melrose is the location of the ancient Melrose Abbey the site of the burial of the heart of Scottish king Robert the Bruce. An excavation was led to find a sealed casket, but it was not opened , and it was actually discovered by high school students involved in the dig. The casket was placed in a sealed lead cylinder, and was then re-buried in the abbey back at its proper resting place.
Nearby is the Roman fort of ''Trimontium'', and Dryburgh Abbey. Melrose is surrounded by the small villages of Darnick, Gattonside, Newstead, and Bowden.
King Arthur is supposedly buried in the Eildon Hills, which overlook the town. A few miles west of the town lies Abbotsford House, the home of novelist Sir Walter Scott.
Melrose is the birthplace of Rugby Sevens, the town's rugby union team is one of the strongest in the Borders, an area where rugby union has always been the most popular sport.
Every year in June Melrose has a festival week known as the Melrose Festival. This involves appointing a Melrosian who has lived in the town for most of his life. Also a queen and her court are appointed from the local primary school, Melrose Grammar School.
Melrose is now host to the annual Borders Book Festival which also takes place during June. The 2005 festival hosted guests including Michael Palin and Germaine Greer; Ian Rankin and Rory Bremner appeared in 2006.

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