Scottish Borders

Scottish Borders is one of 32 unitary council regions in Scotland. It borders onto Dumfries and Galloway in the west, South Lanarkshire in the north west, East Lothian, Midlothian both to the north, and the county of Northumberland in England to the south. The administrative centre of the region is Newton St. Boswells.

Geographically the region is hilly in the south, west and north, with the River Tweed flowing west to east through the region. The east of the region is primarily flat sometimes with isolated small groups of hills. The Tweed and its tributaries drain the entire region with the river flowing into the North Sea at Berwick-upon-Tweed, and forming the border with England for the last twenty miles or so of its length.

Historically the region was formed from four counties Peeblesshire, Roxburghshire, Selkirkshire and Berwickshire. Roxburghshire and Berwickshire historically bore the brunt of war with England, both during declared wars such as the Wars of Scottish Independence, and low level conflict as in the times of the Reivers. Thus across the region are the ruins of many castles, abbeys and even towns.

Towns and villages

• Abbey St. Bathans Ashkirk
• Broughton
• Cockburnspath Coldingham Coldstream
• Dryburgh Duns
• Eddelston Ettrick Ettrick Bridge Eyemouth
• Galashiels
• Hawick
• Innerleithen
• Jedburgh
• Kelso Kirk Yetholm
• Lauder
• Melrose
• Newcastleton Newton St. Boswells
• Peebles
• Roxburgh
• Selkirk St. Abbs Stow
• Teviothead Traquair
• Walkerburn West Linton

Places of interest

• Abbotsford
• Bowhill House
• Cheviot Hills
• Dawyck Botanic Gardens
• Dryburgh Abbey - Historic Scotland
• Ettrick Forest
• Eyemouth Museum
• Floors Castle
• Glentress Forest - Forest Enterprise
• Greenknowe Tower
• Harmony Garden - National Trust for Scotland
• Hermitage Castle - Historic Scotland
• Jedburgh Abbey - Historic Scotland
• Lammermuir
• Lauderdale
• Manderston
• Megget Reservoir
• Mellerstain
• Melrose Abbey - Historic Scotland
• Monteviot House
• Neidpath Castle
• Pennine Way - National Trails
• Priorwood Garden - National Trust for Scotland
• Robet Smail's Printing Works - National Trust for Scotland
• Smailholm Tower - Historic Scotland
• Southern Upland Way - National Trails
• St. Abbs Head
• St. Marys Loch
• St. Ronans Wells
• Teviotdale
• Thirlestane Castle
• Traquair House
• Trimontium
• Waterloo Monument