Maiden Bridge

No walk in the grounds of Newbattle Abbey is complete without a photo of the late C15 Maiden Bridge.

 It is said to be named after Princess Margaret, daughter of King Henry VII, who in 1503 with her entourage of 500, crossed the River South Esk on her way to meet King James IV, to whom she was betrothed, at Newbattle. The resulting marriage joined Thistle and the Rose which paved the way for the Union of the Crowns a hundred years later in 1603.