MELROSE
Melrose is a small village, off of the A6091 in the Scottish Borders. It is popular with tourists who visit Melrose Abbey, one of four large Abbeys in the area. This means it has lots of gift shops and small Cafes.
Melrose attractions visitor guide Melrose Abbey Melrose Rugby
Judged one of The Sunday Times’ Best Places to Live 2021 and 2022
All of the drinking venues are on, or just off, the one street. At the roundabout at the top of the High Street (strictly speaking Market Place) is The Ship Inn. Leaving here cross over the road and walk down the left side of the High Street. Just around the first corner is The Station Hotel.
Continue down the High Street and find in quick succession, all on the left, Burt's Hotel, The George and Abbotsford Hotel and The King's Arms.
A short walk further down the hill brings you to The Greenyards, home of Melrose Rugby Football Club.
Beware of the word 'Bar' on or above a door as this inevitably is the lounge.
PLACES TO VISIT WITH PUBTRAILS
The towns and villages highlighted on this web site have a wide variety of pubs and beers in them. All of the places are great to visit, whether for a day or longer, and most have tourist attractions for all of the family.
There is a large variety of pubs throughout the different towns shown below. Some you may wish never to visit again but even discovering these can be interesting. There are pubs that you would not take your wife into. While some you could not take your girlfriend into. A few you would not take either into. However, most of the pubs are very pleasant.
HOME MAP of places visited
Alnwick Ambleside Anstruther Bakewell Bamburgh Barnard Castle Bath Berwick upon Tweed Birnam & Dunkeld Bourton on the Water Bowness on Windermere Bridge of Allan Chester Chichester Dunblane Dunoon Edinburgh Ely Fort William Glasgow Gourock Greenock Helensburgh Inverness Kelso Keswick Knaresbourgh Largs Linlithgow Lyme Regis Melrose Montrose Newton Stewart North Berwick Norwich Oban Pebbles Penzance Portree Pitlochry Quorn Richmond Rothesay St Andrews Seahouses Seend Shrewsbury Skipton Stirling Stratford-upon-Avon Stockton Heath Whitby Windemere Whitstable York
The Ship Inn
The Ship Inn has two entrance doors. The left-hand side one has bar written above it. However this takes you to the more lounge like side of the pub. This has small tables and a soft chairs, although it is dominated by two large TV screens and has a darts board. The other side of the pub has a pool table and another large TV. this side goes back further to more seating and another smaller TV. It then leads out to a large beer garden.
Have a couple here
real ale : Deuchars (hidden away at far side of lounge), Flying Scotsman
heavy: McEwan's 70/-, John Smiths (+cold)
lager: McEwan's, Fosters, Heineken, Amstel
Cider: Strongbow Guinness + ice cold
Pub Jukebox:
Alcohol themed music to listen to while you browse.
i get a kick out of you - Tony Bennet & Lady Gaga
The Station Hotel
Enter The Station Hotel via the bar door which takes you to a small serving area in a split level bar of two rooms. There is a mix of soft chairs and stools, tables and coffee tables, on a wooden floor. There is a restaurant at the left hand side of the hotel and food is served in the bar.
have a half pint
heavy: Belhaven Best,
lager: Carlsberg, Tennent's
Guinness + ice cold
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Scottish Pub Trails
Craig Stevenson and John MacKay have used their bus passes to good effect. They have toured the towns and cities of Scotland visiting pubs. They recount their adventures in a series of books:
The Auldest Boozers in Town
The Cheap Way Round
Still Goin’
Inn Aff The Bar
Goin’ Roon The Edge
Mud, Sweat and Beers
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Pubtrails Home
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Local CAMRA
Edinburgh CAMRA
Pub Quiz
Israel Hands is a character in which classic children's adventure series?
Answer at foot of page
Burt's Hotel ★
Burt's Hotel is the plush (three star) hotel in town. The right front of the hotel has the lounge bar while the expensive restaurant is through to the back of the hotel. The lounge mainly caters for excellent bar meals although there is good space at the bar for drinking.
Good Pub Guide
Good Beer Guide (CAMRA) - 2023, 2024, 2025
Have a couple here
real ale: Landlord, Deuchars, Foxy Blonde (Scottish Borders Brewery)
heavy: Belhaven Best
lager: Carlsberg, San Miguel
Cider: Addlestone Guinness
The George & Abbotsford ★
The George & Abbotsford is a two star hotel. The reception takes you to a gift and beer shop, estate agent adverts on the wall, and second hand books for sale. The restaurant/bar meal is straight ahead while the lounge is to the left. The lounge feel is destroyed by the large TV screen over the mantlepiece and the pool table in front of it. Courtyard area to rear.
Good Pub Guide 2013
Regular in Good Beer Guide including 2023, 2024, 2025
Have a couple here
real ale: Dark Island, Foxy Blonde (Scottish Borders Brewery), Tyneside
Blonde, Northern Light - always 4 guest ales
heavy: Belhaven Best
lager: Stella, Carlsberg
Cider: Stowford Press Guinness
The King's Arms
The King's Arms has two entrances, the left is reception and restaurant. The right, labelled bar, is the drinking area and is more than a bar but not quite a lounge. There are not many tables but bar meals are available at them.
Good Beer Guide 2013 (CAMRA)
Have one here
real ale: usually 3 real ales eg Deuchars, Adnams New Zealand Pale Ale, Landlord, Cockerhoop, Equinox (Everads)
heavy: Belhaven Best, John Smiths cold
lager: Tennent's cold, Carlsberg, Stella
Cider: Strongbow Guinness
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Books about Beer
A selection of recommended books covering all aspects of beer and brewing. There are books on the history of beer and others on different styles of beer.
For example
An Inebriated History of Britain by Peter Haydon
Amber, Gold & Black by Martyn Cornell
Brew Britannia by Jessica Boak & Ray Bailey
The Story of the Pint by Martyn Cornell
Miracle Brew by Pete Brown
Built to Brew by Lynn Pearson
And many more
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Local trail
A close by town with a Pubtrail
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Local trail
A close by town with a Pubtrail
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Local trail
A close by town with a Pubtrail
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Books about pubs
A selection of recommended books on pubs and their history. There are books on the social history of pubs and the design of pubs through the ages.
There are also books on visiting pubs and ones recommending pubs to visit.
CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide
Death of the English Pub by Christopher Hutt
Brewers, Brands and the Pubs in their Hands by Tony Thornton
Licensed to Sell by Brandwood, Davidson & Slaughter
And many more
“A man who was fond of wine was offered some grapes as desert. “Much obliged, I am not accustomed to taking my wine as pills.””
— Jean Brillat-Savarin
ANSWER: Treasure Island (in non-fiction he was second in command to Edward Teach (a.k.a. Blackbeard)