Abbey St Bathans

Abbey St Bathans is a community in Berwickshire in the eastern part of the Scottish Borders. Unique in its topography, a long winding steep wooded valley that follows the Whiteadder Water.

Although its name suggests a larger foundation, Abbey St Bathans was originally a priory of Cistercian Nuns. It was sanctified and then used as a retreat by the sisters who formed the community at Haddington and at Nunraw, under the patronage of Ada, Countess of Dunbar and her husband Patrick, Earl of Dunbar.

Though the original location of the monastic accommodation is unknown today, there is a stone on one side of the glen known as the Abbey Stone. While there are no religious houses in the village today, there is a small church in the square. A Minister is shared with nearby hamlet of Longformacus. The dedication is to Saint Bathan (Scottish Gaelic: Baithéne mac Brénaind) the second abbot of Iona.

In the mid-1960s a deposit or "midden" was found by the existing church, on the river bank where such a "tip" would logically be located. This contained many shards of pottery which were identified as mediaeval by the Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh. This suggests that the monastery was located in the riverside meadow area around the existing church, and a dig would probably reveal some of the structure. This deposit was discovered and excavated by Mrs. E. K. Robb, whose family used to holiday in the farm.

Saint Bathans

The former gold and coal mining town of Saint Bathans, formerly named Dunstan Creek, lies deep in the heart of the Maniototo in New Zealand's Otago region. Mining has long ceased, and it is a tranquil holiday retreat. The preservation of many of its historic buildings makes it one of the region's more picturesque tourist venues. Saint Bathans is well known for its scenic man-made lake with beautiful looking clay cliffs that attract many tourists. It is currently a camping spot, and swimming is allowed in the lake.

The town was named for the Scottish Borders village of Abbey St Bathans by early surveyor John Turnbull Thomson; the Scottish village was the birthplace of Thomson's maternal grandfather. The area had previously been known as Dunstan Creek. It is 40 kilometres northwest of Ranfurly and 60 kilometres northeast of Alexandra, near the Dunstan Creek, beneath the Saint Bathans Range and Dunstan mountains.

Prominent features include the historic Vulcan Hotel and the Blue Lake, a small lake formed during gold-sluicing, which gives it a distinctive turquoise colour. The area attracts many visitors intent on gold-prospecting.