Cake and more Cake.
Daisy wasn’t feeling to great so before we went to visit Jedburgh Abbey, it was a stop at a nice café, Cappuccino and cake for me and Paracetamol for Daisy, any excuse to indulge in lives simple pleasures.
Atmospheric music plays as you enter into the hub at the start of Jedburgh Abbey, nice but also quite spooky and it was with an uneasy expectancy I almost imagined I would turn the corner and be greeted by ghostly images of monks long past, thankfully that wasn’t the case but a modern glass door leads to an equally modern bridge and pathway over old foundations to the abbey ruins. It was a lovely sunny day, but on entering the centre arena of the ruins, I felt a slight chill. There are several small open chapel rooms. I left Daisy as she took some pictures and went over to explore what looked like a narrow tower or possibly even a chimney. Poking my head into the entrance I saw an extremely narrow stone staircase and decided very quickly that it was not for those that didn’t like heights or were claustrophobic, and as I am both. I could see no reason why I should even attempt to go up and even convinced myself that there would be a really good chance I would get stuck.
Daisy at this point was standing across the other side of the inner courtyard looking into one of the enclaves, taking pictures, so I wandered over to join her. She was looking into the South Choir Chapel and had decided that she did not like the feeling that she got from it and was not going to go in. She said that it was making her headache worse. I of course went inside but eerily enough, almost scripted, a sudden breeze, whipped through the chapel and I felt a slight chill and a sense of foreboding. As I walked towards the back wall, I happened upon two small dead birds lying on the ground near to the corner of the room. I have to say this just added to the overall atmosphere and for some reason I almost found myself laughing as it was like a scripted B class movie. I turned to speak to Daisy, but she had wandered off to take some pictures as we did not have a lot of time. I didn’t stay long in that chapel room, I felt as though I was being watched, to be honest I had had that feeling since I had entered the Abbey.
I walked over to the outskirts of the Abbey and looked out at the view. Grass now covered the stone ruins of centuries long past. As I was standing deep in thought I had a strong feeling of a young female standing beside me, someone of importance, from a noble family that had sought refuge here hundreds of years ago as if she was looking and waiting for the onset of some kind of battle or siege. I also had the sense that there was some romantic liaison associated with her. Note to self to investigate this further.
Daisy had taken her own notes of the visit and we decided that we should leave as we wanted to make a quick visit to the nearby Mary Queen of Scots house before heading for a pre booked yes you guessed it…afternoon tea !
Mary Queen Scots House
Mary Queen of Scots House: Oh no more stairs!
The first thing that crossed my mind when we entered the ground floor area is that there was a lot of stairs to climb. To be fair it is a tower house so that’s what should be expected. No lifts back in the day. I often wonder what it must have been like to try and navigate the narrow stairwells wearing those stiff bustling dresses and uncomfortable odd looking pointed wooden shoes. I would certainly have fallen or worse got stuck.
That said the Tower house is now a museum and there are a lot of interesting things to read about in its history as well as about her Royal Highness. I must be honest I did not read all of it as our time was restricted due to our pending lunch booking., Plus Daisy gave up on the stairs after the first floor and went back down into the garden area.
The good thing about this visit was that it was not too busy, so I was able to tune in. There is a presence or two lingering around in this building and it give off the feeling that it has been very much a family home throughout the centuries. To start with I did not pick up on any Mary Queen of Scots ghostly vibes, in the sense of her spirit lingering there. But as an empath and having the gift of Psychometry (feeling an energy through inanimate objects), as I touched the walls and door frames, I could feel a slight sense of sickness, fear, and longing/yearning for peaceful times. It made me feel sad.
Beyond the Mary of Queen of Scots story, however, and before it became a museum, I felt that his had been very much a family home, albeit changing in format for a hundred years or so. There was a sense that there had been a lot of visitors entertained here at one time, it also felt like place of sanctuary and healing. Overall, I felt peaceful. I felt the presence of an elderly lady, quite religious in belief but fair in manner, she was on her own moving from room to room. I did not try to connect with her further. This requires further research. I did not want to read any of the family history as this would affect the whole purpose of this visit, which is like always to use my own intuition.
I made my way to the Gardens to meet up with Daisy. Again, there was a nice peaceful feeling outside, with religious backdrop, like a retreat. I also felt a strong connection to the nearby Jedburgh Abbey. I feel this House and Gardens has more of story to tell for me beyond Mary Queen of Scots.
Enchantedtrailseekers had a Lovely Afternoon tea at Born in Borders -thoroughly recommend http://www.bornintheborders.com/shop/product/afternoon-tea
Psychics- Enchantedtrailseekers 