A new visitor centre is opening today at the home of Sir Walter Scott, one of Scotland's literary sons.

The centre at Abbotsford House near Melrose in the Borders will focus on the life and legacy of Scott, who appears on bank notes and has a monument on Edinburgh's Prince Street but is no longer widely read.

The main house is scheduled to re-open next year after a £12m conservation project.

And the visitor centre, built by Carlisle-based Border Construction, is to open today in a tree-covered embankment at the site.


The facility has 'very good' BREEAM rating and a rainwater harvesting system.

It is opening less than a year after bulk excavation works were carried out.

The centre will tell Scott's life story and highlight his writing, including Ivanhoe, and also showcase objects in the writer's memorabilia collection.

Remarkably, these include a clock once owned by Marie Antoinette and a lock of Napoleon's hair.

Jason Dyer of The Abbotsford Trust, which runs the house, told the Herald newspaper: "The centre looks fantastic and it's quite a foil to Abbotsford in that it's quite a modern, square design compared to all the nooks and crannies you see in the main house. But I think it's a building that Scott would love because he was an innovator."

The centre and the restoration of the house have been funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Historic Scotland, Scottish Borders Council, Scottish Enterprise, the Scottish Government and some private individuals and charitable trusts.

(NE)