On this wet, dreary Monday morning we set off into the borders region to visit the church at Ladykirk and Melrose Abbey. Despite being caught behind tractors and other typical country traffic, we arrived in Ladykirk by mid morning. After a brief walk around and discussion with the minister, we got down to business! Dimitris set up the total station and programmed the laser scanner and began to scan one of the bays of the barrel vaults that spans the length of the church, while we took various dimensions using a more traditional method - a measuring tape! 

We managed to get up into the bell tower and look down upon the wrought ashlar stone roof. It was interesting to see the roof, as it was a roof similar to this which is thought to have caused the collapse at Holyrood. When we got back down to the church Dimitris was still busy with the scanner so James took the opportunity (with permission!) to have a go on the church organ. Hopefully the vibrations from the pipes didn't disrupt the scans too much!

After leaving Ladykirk later than expected we had a rushed lunch in Kelso as we had to get to Melrose before the abbey shut at 4pm. We eventually arrived with 5 minutes to spare! Although the weather had worsened by this point, we braved the rain and walked around the spectacular ruins and examined the various types of vault on display.

- Michael and James

We had our first site visit yesterday to Holyrood Abbey, Edinburgh. This visit was particularly useful as our model vault is based on on of the vaults still standing in the south aisle. It was good to see how the vaults form part of the overall structure and have a good look at all the structural components. To top off the visit, Dimitris treated us to coffee and cake afterwards - worth the visit in itself! 

- Michael