Bridlington & Melrose - Visits to see family that aren't "just around the corner"

Just before Christmas we drove to see my Nanna in Bridlington. It's a small seaside town in Yorkshire and she lives right near the beach. I usually visit her with my family and The Bearded One hasn't been to her place yet, so it was nice to get the chance to visit together.

We visited mid-week so there wasn't much night life, but we had some lovely food and found this little pub near the promenade that had character. During the days we walked along the seafront, did some shopping and some day time drinking (obvs). The weather was cold but the sun was shining most of the time. 

It was really nice to spend some quality time with Nanna. We went out for dinner one evening and found ourselves laughing the whole time. Although she has traditional views, she has such a brilliant sense of humor and understands most things modern (I mean, she does have Facebook). Her and The Bearded One get on really well, which makes me so happy. She doesn't take any nonsense, and would, without hesitation, tell him or I if she didn't like something about him (phew!).

We spent most of both evenings in the pub with character. During one of my trips to the loo, The Bearded One carved something into the side of one of the benches in the pub (he wasn't the only one who had "vandalised" the property, don't worry). Something so simple, but meant so much:

From Bridlington we travelled to Melrose in Scotland to visit some of The Bearded One's second cousins. We absolutely love Melrose. It's this beautiful, small town on the Scottish boarders, where his Mom spent some of her childhood. The town has such lovely history for the family and it's always so meaningful when we visit.

The scenery is absolutely gorgeous, even on the drive there. You can tell when you're close, as the views change from concrete and buildings, to these green fields and hills, some with snow on the top. When you get there, throughout the town you can see beautiful views where ever you look. The most prominent view is of the Eildons, which is a set of 3 hills that surround the town. The Bearded One and I have actually climbed 2 out of the 3 hills on an earlier visit (the biggest 2 of course). That was tough, but so rewarding and very cold, when you get the top. There was a lot of goats up there too...

Another favourite for us in Melrose is a visit to The River Tweed. It practically runs parallel to the town, with fast running waters and a beautiful bridge so you can see each side of the river. Every time we visit the town we go for a walk along the river to skim stones through the water and just reminisce about previous visits.

We stayed with The Bearded One's second cousins who run a B&B. They were so hospitable and couldn't do enough for us. I had come down with this awful cold, that up until that point I had managed to avoid, and they gave me medicine and made sure I was warm enough. Them, and the other members of the family that live in Melrose, are some of the nicest people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing and I'm lucky enough to now call them family.

If you ever fancy a relaxing, scenic break in beautiful Scotland, you should visit Melrose. Why don't you see if the family have any rooms available, you won't be disappointed with the hospitality!