EILDON HILLS  , a

group of three conical hills, of volcanic origin, in Roxburghshire, Scotland, 1 m . S. by E. of Melrose, about equidistant from Melrose and St Boswells stations on the North British railway . They were once known as Eldune—the Eldunum of Simeon of Durham (fl . 1130)—probably derived from the Gaelic aill, " rock," and dun, " hill "; but the name is also said to be a corruption of the Cymric moeldun, " bald hill." The northern peak is 1327 ft. high, the central 1385 ft. and the southern 1216 ft . Whether or not the Roman station of Trimontium was situated here is matter of controversy . According to General William Roy (1726–1790) Trimontium—so called, according to this theory, from the triple Eildon heights—was Old Melrose; other authorities incline to place the station on the northern shore of the Solway Firth . The Eildons have been the subject of much legendary lore . Michael Scot (1175-1234), acting as a confederate of the Evil One (so the fable runs) cleft Eildon Hill, then a single cone, into the three existing peaks . Another legend states that Arthur and his knights sleep in a vault beneath the Eildons . A third legend centres in Thomas of Erceldoune . The Eildon Tree Stone, a large moss-covered boulder, lying on the high road as it bends towards the west within 2 M. of Melrose, marks the spot where the Fairy Queen led him into her realms in the heart of the hills . Other places associated with this legend may still be identified .

Huntly Banks, where "true Thomas " lay and watched the queen's approach, is half a mile west of the Eildon Tree Stone, and on the west side of the hills is Bogle Burn, a streamlet that feeds the Tweed and probably derives its name from his ghostly visitor . Here, too, is Rhymer's glen, although the name was invented by Sir Walter Scott, who added the dell to his Abbotsford estate . Bowden, to the south of the hills, was the birthplace of the poets Thomas Aird (1802–1876) and James Thomson, and its parish church contains the burial-place of the dukes of Roxburghe . Eildon Hall is a seat of the duke of Buccleuch .