[June 2026] On our second day in Edinburgh, Scotland, we took a tour heading south.
The tour company was our usual, Rabbie’s.
We’ve used this company quite a few times since our first tour in 2010; this was our sixth time.
We’re such regular customers that one time our photos have even appeared on their website.
They’ve grown and prospered considerably in the last 15 years or so.
For example, the first time we took a tour from Edinburgh, the minibus was parked on a corner of the Royal Mile, and we departed from there.
The next time we departed from Edinburgh, the meeting place was a coffee shop a little outside the town centre.
However, this time, they had secured 3-4 dedicated boarding areas at the proper Edinburgh Bus Station.
Even though it was a weekday, tour participants kept arriving in a steady stream, and there were about 3 employees managing the flow.
What a rise in status!
This time, we participated in a tour visiting Kelso, a town in the Scottish Borders, and Alnwick and Bambourgh in England.
The small group size remained the same, using a 16-seater minibus, but to my surprise, almost all the tour participants were Americans.
Besides us, there was only one Norwegian and one German.
During the self-introductions, I was surprised that the Americans simply stated their state, such as “from North Carolina,” without adding “from the United States.”
While I thought they were rather arrogant, I also realized, “Ah, so Rabbie’s is thriving thanks to the strong US dollar.”
Especially from the first tour, one of the joys of this tour was the sense of camaraderie and friendship that gradually developed as people from various countries came together.
But that wasn’t the only disappointment; the quality of the guide was also subpar this time, which was a first for us.
The guide only gave us a superficial introduction to Scottish history, customs, and each destination; he mostly talked about himself.
Certainly, I could find the information online, but the real joy of a tour is hearing explanations from a local’s perspective.
Anyway, our first destination was Kelso.
Here lie the ruins of Kelso Abbey.
The history of this abbey dates back to the 12th century, and it was destroyed in the 16th-century conflict between Scotland and England.
There are several such abbey ruins in the Scottish Borders, and I was looking forward to seeing them.
I’m not generally a fan of ruins, but for some reason, I find the skeletal remains of well-preserved buildings fascinating.
Unfortunately, however, it was under restoration when we visited, so we couldn’t get close (it seems to have been opened to the public shortly after).
Therefore, we viewed the ruins from a distance and spent the time until our meeting time strolling through the quiet town, typical of a provincial city.
