Historic Environment Scotland is the lead public body set up to investigate, care for and promote Scotland’s historic environment.
From brochs, castles and palaces to abbeys, towers and tombs there are over 5000 years’ worth of history for you to enjoy.
Entrance Fees To Melrose Abbey
Discover a place so beloved by Robert the Bruce, he chose it as the final resting place for his heart. Melrose Abbey is a magnificent ruin on a grand scale, and it was a highly desirable place to be buried.
David I founded Scotland’s first Cistercian monastery in 1136. Being so close to the border, Melrose Abbey suffered at English hands during the Middle Ages. Rebuilt in the 1380s, it was used as an abbey until the Protestant Reformation of 1560. Afterwards, the existing monks were allowed to stay on: the last died in 1590.
What to see and do:
– Admire the graceful architecture of the abbey church, among Britain’s finest church architecture of the late 1300s
– Take in the charming sculpture – look out for the famous bagpipe-playing Melrose pig
– Step inside the chapter house, where a heart believed to be that of Robert the Bruce is buried
– Visit the Commendator’s House Museum to see a rich collection of medieval objects found in the abbey cloister
– Take our fun fact-finding quiz while exploring the abbey
Must be pre-booked
SCHEDULE:
1 April to 30 September:
Daily, 9.30am to 5.30pm
Last entry 5pm
1 October to 31 March:
Daily, 10am to 4pm
Last entry 3.30pm
NOTE:
Due to access restrictions in place as a precautionary measure while undertaking high level masonry inspections, there is currently no visitor access to the abbey church.
The abbey grounds, cloister and museum are open.
