The Borders' place-names reflect successive waves of invaders from Celtic to Norman. Its legend contains some of the most graphic accounts in our islands of the emergence of nationhood. The Scottish Borders is said to be more sung in ballad than any other place on the face of the earth even Ancient Greece! Stalking the pages of Borders history are epic characters including King Arthur and Merlin, William Wallace, Robert the Bruce, and Mary Queen of Scots.
Ancient fortifications, battle-fields, standing stones and ruined abbeys are the essential backdrop of this region, as potent to the imagination now as they were to Sir Walter Scott and James Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd, nearly 200 years ago.
There is mystery and poetry in the historic hills and valleys of the Scottish Borders. Two miles east of Galashiels lies Abbotsford, home to the great novelist, author of Rob Roy and Ivanhoe; Sir Walter Scott. Sir Walter Scott is buried in the ruins of Dryburgh Abbey, close to his favourite viewpoint of the Eildon Hills known as Scott‘s View. A 22 foot high sandstone statue of William Wallace is also within easy walking distance.
The abbeys and castles that have survived from David I‘s twelfth century feudalism are in many cases the showpieces of the more monumental remains. Jedburgh, Dryburgh, Kelso and Melrose... even in ruins; their magnificent architecture bears witness to their spiritual and political power. The abbeys were a tempting target and their history is a continuous tale of destruction and rebuilding.
The final straw was the “Rough Wooing” of Henry VIII. The Visitor Centre at Jedburgh Abbey gives a fascinating insight into the harsh day-to-day regime of the medieval canons.
Melrose Abbey is home to the heart of Robert the Bruce, the great Scottish King. In the picturesque country town of Kelso lies another of the Borders four Abbeys. Kelso Abbey was founded in 1128 and like others suffered in the Border war.
To the east of the region is Paxton House, built for a German princess in 1756 by John and James Adam, and is a perfect example of 18th century classical architecture. The Edwardian Manderston has a silver staircase, unique in the world, and, most unbelievably, for a time said to have been concealed and forgotten under a coat of paint! The area also boasts Mellerstain, one of the great Georgian houses of Scotland, renowned for Robert Adam‘s elegant interior design home of the Earl and Countess of Haddington.
Floors Castle, near Kelso, is an extravagant castellated fantasy, lived in by the Duke of Roxburghe, you can wander through spectacular staterooms filled with priceless European paintings, tapestries and furnishings.
Traquair, said to be the oldest inhabited house in Scotland, has colourful historical associations such as the Jacobite Risings and has been visited by 27 monarchs, including Mary Queen of Scots. Bowhill, hidden deep in woodland set in magnificent scenery, has priceless paintings and a ‘Little Theatre‘ host to many top entertainers. Thirlestane Castle has its origins in the 13th century and has been carefully restored to its former splendour with exuberant restoration ceilings
As well as these there is the romantic medieval castle of Neidpath lying on the banks of the River Tweed, a 19th century reform prison in Jedburgh and Hermitage Castle a vast eerie ruin in a lovely situation and a brooding example of the martial side of David‘s I‘s policy; all fine examples of the great variety of fabulous historic attractions there is to see within the Scottish Borders.
Border Reivers
It is the Cheviots and the Tweed which for nearly one thousand years have formed Scotland‘s national boundary. The frontier was once hotly contested and for many centuries was beyond either nation‘s laws. In fact, for three hundred years it provided its own government under its own Borders‘ Law. This was the stamping ground of the border reivers, those horse-thieves, cattle-thieves and murderers, who featured so prominently in the world-famous Border ballads..more..
Common Ridings and Local Festivals
The annual Common Ridings and Festivals held in each town are survivals of the old practice of riding the town‘s boundaries to preserve burgh rights and to prevent encroachment by neighbouring landlords. Long after they ceased to be essential, they continued in commemoration of local legend, history and tradition more...
Other websites of interest
Scottish Borders Heritage
Historic Scotland