London to John O Groat's. 327 



CHAPTER XVi: 



HEXIIAM THE NORTH TYNE BORDER-LAND AND ITS SUGGESTIONS 



HA WICK TEVIOTDALE BIRTH-PLACE OF LEYDEN MELROSB AND 



DRYBURGH ABBEYS ABBOTSFORD : SIR WALTER SCOTT; HOMAGE 



TO HIS GENIUS THE FERRY AND THE OAR-GIRL NEW FARM 



STEDDINGS SCENERY OF THE TWEED VALLEY EDINBURGH AND 



ITS CHARACTERISTICS. 



ON Thursday, Sept. 3rd, I left Newcastle, aiid 

 proceeded first westward to the old town of 

 Ilexham, with the view of taking a more central 

 route into Scotland. Here, too, are the ruins of one 

 of the most ancient of the abbeys. The parish church 

 wears the wrinkles of as many centuries as the oldest 

 in the land. Indeed, the town is full of antiquities 

 of different dates and races, lloman, Scotch, Saxon, 

 Danish and Norman. They all left the marks of their 

 glaived hands upon it. 



From Hexham I faced northward and followed the 

 North Tyne up through a very picturesque and 

 romantic valley, thickly wooded and studded with 

 baronial mansions, parks, castles and residences of 

 gentry, with comfortable farm-houses looking sunny 



