Edinburgh, Lothian and the Scottish Borders

EDINBURGH, LOTHIAN AND SCOTTISH BORDERS INTRODUCTION
Edinburgh, Lothian and the Scottish Borders are absolutely magnificent parts to explore. The most beautiful of all northern rivers – The Tweed – and then the glorious Cheviot Hills mark the southern boundary of this area and apart from routes on the coastal fringe there is only one main road linking the borders with England. The lovely undulations of the Pentland Hills, Moorfoot Hills and Lammermuir Hills, all part of the Southern Uplands, provide a barrier of high ground between the Tweed valley and the northern coastal fringe on which Edinburgh is situated. The North Sea defines the north eastern boundary whilst the incomparable Firth of Forth provides the natural northern limit. The towns are superb with an architectural style based on the effects of a long and often turbulent history.

HISTORY & HERITAGE
Control of the few routeways penetrating through the region has been the dominant theme of the history of this area. Ancient hill forts flanked the hills controlling these routes and later a chain of great castles would combat threats from the sea and link Berwick to Biggar. Every schoolchild knows that the Romans were singularly unsuccessful in containing the northern tribes who established warring kingdoms and eventually the Borders fell to Anglo-Saxon invaders. Norse conquests further divided the region. A long period of murdering kings ensued and lawlessness became a way of life. Time after time kings of England determined to stop the border ‘reivers’. Even the incredible massacre of the Scots in 1513 at Flodden Field failed to stop border unrest, but the crushing of the Jacobites at Culloden in 1746 almost certainly did.

CUSTOMS & CULTURE
The genius of the Borders lies in its frontier character. If the violence has long subsided, the monuments to it remain and with them the spirit of the tribulations which lasted for more than 1500 years. Hill forts, broches, bastles, peles, tower houses and castles are the evocative reminders of the area’s contested past and its role as racial, national and international boundary. The legends of the Borders contain some of the most graphic accounts in our islands of the emergence of nationhood. It is said to be more besung in ballad than any other place on the face of the earth, even Ancient Greece. Many of the ballads were collected by Sir Walter Scott who himself epitomised the true Borderer. The ‘Ettrick Shepherd’ James Hogg was a friend and fellow poet of Scott. Another famous son was John Knox the great religious reformer and father of the Scottish Reformation. In an area where telling tales would have been rife it is no surprise to find the master of storytellers, Robert Louis Stevenson.

LANDSCAPES & LANDFORMS
As one enters the region the endless panoramic views from Carter Bar are thought to be some of Britain’s best as the Lammermuir, Moorfoot and Cheviots form a great crescent of hills around the Borders most familiar landmark – the three massive volcanic Eildon Hills. In the area northwest of Dunbar are another three striking volcanic remnants – Bass Rock, North Berwick Law and Traprain Law. Of course the best known of all Scotland’s ancient volcanoes are Arthur’s Seat and Castle Hill on which Edinburgh Castle is so superbly located. The rivers and especially the Tweed are unimaginably beautiful and their banks play host to a myriad of romantically placed castles. Within the ‘hard-rocked’ hills are a number of lakes including the much loved St. Mary’s Loch north of the Ettrick Valley. 7 miles to the east is the fabulous spectacle of the 60 metre Grey Mare’s Tail waterfall which is one of many in the area. Teviotdale, to the east of Hawick, is sumptuous whilst all of the hills are wonderfully unspoiled.

PLACES TO VISIT & EVENTS
Edinburgh is a splendid city. At its centre is a rocky crag with a castle on top and a palace at the bottom – an image that has not changed in 300 years. It is an ancient settlement in a dramatic location, with more than any other city I know, a sense of place. Hermitage Castle in Liddesdale is a magnificent, gaunt pile, with a black history easily associated with its appearance. In the grounds of Floors Castle are the ruins of Roxborough Castle and the macabre story of the death of James II. Tradition has it that the heart of Robert the Bruce is buried in the haunting remains of Melrose Abbey. The towns and villages are nearly all worthy of exploration. Galashiels, a fairly ‘modern’ town, is the centre of tweed manufacture in Scotland. Selkirk, like many other burghs, grew up in the shadow of a castle. Sir Walter Scott was sheriff here for 33 years and his memorabilia are contained in the old Courtroom. Peebles makes a wonderful centre for exploration with Neidpath Castle, Traquair and Cademuir Hill Forts close by.

SPORTS & LEISURE
The Borders are synonymous with game fishing, whether for salmon, sea trout or brown trout and the Tweed boasts nearly 100 miles of angling paradise! The tributaries like Ettrick Water, the Teviot, White adder Water and Till are also important angling rivers in their own right. Next to fishing there is golf. Nearly every township has its municipal course. East Lothian has the greatest concentration of courses including the Royal Musselburgh, one of the oldest golf clubs in the world. The Southern Uplands Way provides a challenge to even the most hardy of walker but there are literally hundreds of miles of wonderful walking especially on the hills and the coast around St. Abb’s Head. The coast offers all the usual coastal activities and is particularly renowned for scuba diving.