abbaye

Was such a fascinating and moving experience for me to see this spot a couple years ago. The bagpipe players' music sent shivers down my spine, not of fear, but more something undefinable--of such glorious sadness, almost. Reminds me of a Frost poem: "I dwell in a lonely house I know That vanished many a summer ago, And left no trace but the cellar walls, And a cellar in which the daylight falls, And the purple-stemmed wild raspberries grow.... "

The same place over 150 years later:

Wonderful to see this old old photo and, as macieklew shows us, it has not changed. You can climb the tower on the right of the photo and see views of the castle (also ruined), the town, beach and golf course.

A haunting image. -- Seen in your Around Scotland set. (?)

wow so beautiful

Cool!

I'm assuming the photographer is the same Roger Fenton who served as the photographer during the Crimean War, and took the famous photograph near the location of the Charge of the Light Brigade.

One of my favorite spots on the planet. My wife and I were married in Melrose and said our final vows here.

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Wir haben`s schwarz auf weiss ONLY THE BEST IN B&W ART♥ ♥, and we'd love to have this added to the group!

I love the sharp edges of the shadows as it contrasts with the circle shape of the building. I also find it interesting that the highest fence is where the building appears to be the lowest, and the lowest fence appears to be the highest; it matches the sharp shadow edge vs the "soft" round building in terms of counter-intuitivity. and I especially like how the mysterious flare in the bottom left corner (street lamp, maybe?) helps to add to the ominousness of the photo.

so beautiful !!

magnifique !!!!!!!!!!

I know a song about Iona.

I love this photo...

Beautiful!

the amazing thing is i recreated this picture a hundred years later!

wonderful!