February means half term holidays at school and a chance to get away! Needing something fairly close to home, we scoured the web for open sites and almost gave up before I checked the Caravan Club website one last time and realised I'd been overlooking a site at Melrose in the Scottish Borders. There was a low season discount too, meaning we could book for around £16 a night. Not knowing much about the town at all, we booked it on a whim, thinking we could always cancel it if the weather was looking rubbish, as the Caravan Club don't ask for a deposit, just 72 hours notice if you need to cancel. But the weather was looking pretty awesome so thankfully there was no need. Melrose is a town where there's lots of roads leading to it, but none of them are particularly major ones! We elected to go via the Edniburgh bypass then cut onto the A7, as in the past we'd found that the less numbers after the A, the better! As it turned out, it was a lovely drive down but due to the construction of the Borders railway, we were stopping every mile or so at temporary lights as the road was adapted to suit. It was very tiresome and we were glad to finally arrive. Melrose Gibson Park CC Site is based right in the town, a nightmare for some looking for total peace and quiet, but for us it was perfect. We could park up and not move again till we left. The wardens were friendly and pointed me towards the sunnier pitches when I asked. A sunny pitch saves using the heating! We backed onto tennis courts and a play park, much to the Tornado Twins delight. But we were mean and made them take a walk around the town before letting them play. We had lunch in the Abbey Coffee Shop, which, funnily enough, is opposite the beautiful old abbey that dominates the town. We didn't go in as we no longer have Historic Scotland membership, but when we renew it (which we definitely will!) we'll pay the abbey and it's gardens a visit. Melrose is also a good stopping point for National Trust members, with a few properties and gardens in the town. After a tasty lunch of soup and sandwiches, we browsed the shops then let the girls loose in the park. Suitabley exhausted, we finally managed to drag them back to Hans for some chill out time and hot chocolate. The next morning, after a quiet night, we set off for a walk along the River Tweed. We found it just a 5 minute walk from the site and it was beautiful. There's a lovely old chain bridge that spans the river at Melrose and we didn't miss the opportunity to take a wander across and make the most of the fantastic winter sun. After our river walk, we managed to treat ourselves to lots of goodies in the shops, and then lunch again in the Abbey Coffee Shop - we know what we like! The girls then had more fun in the play park before we crossed the road and spent some time watching Melrose Wasps play Ross Sutherland at rugby. The girls loved it! You can get really close to the action, if you don't mind watching out for low flying rugby balls. Unfortunately the girls got rather excited when one of the players nearly lost his shorts in a tackle - and we had to make a sharp exit. Enough excitement for one day! By that point, we'd been out for hours and it was time for a rest. Dinner was lazy nachos and Tommy had organised a film for the evening, so after a quick shower we hunkered in and got comfy. The good weather continued the next morning and we had a good drive home. We returned to the Edinburgh bypass via the A68, a much wider and faster road without the roadworks! Melrose was fab and we'd love to return one day. Read more about our travels in the Scottish Borders.
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