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Events in
the Borders
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The Scottish Borders, south of the countries
capital city, Edinburgh, is an area of tranquil villages, bustling textile towns
and varied scenery, including a wild coastline running northwards from the
border by Berwick- upon Tweed.
Visitors can enjoy a wide range of attractions,
including magnificent historic houses, great Border abbeys, telling their tale
of Border feuds with England, and working woollen mills and craft workshops.
The adventures of the old time reivers (Border
raiders) are still recounted in song and ballad today. Drumlanrig's Tower in
Hawick, largest of the Scottish Borders towns, portrays life in former days,
while the town of Selkirk claims that its Common Riding is the largest mounted
gathering anywhere in Europe.
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Small towns like Kelso and Peebles, unspoiled
in their rural setting, unveil to the visitor the timeless appeal
of Scotland – breathing space, charming locations and friendly
people, spirited and generous. All this is evident at the
colourful festivals of the Border Ridings hosted in many towns.
Another special characteristic is the choice of grand homes and castles to
visit. Just north of the Border, Paxton House is a handsome mansion with a
picture gallery which is part of the National Galleries of Scotland. Floors
Castle, on the edge of Kelso, is said to be the largest inhabited home in
Scotland. Traquair House near Innerleithen is the oldest continually
inhabited house in Scotland. Many of these properties have fine gardens,
another Scottish Borders characteristic. Other gardens to visit include
Dawyck, west of Peebles, an outstation of Edinburgh's Royal Botanical
Gardens - and Priorwood, beside Melrose Abbey.
Nowadays, it’s old farm buildings with their beautiful sandstone archways
and cobbled floors that give us insight into the numbers of working horses
that ploughed the land from dawn till dusk on Border farms. Happily,
however, in 2006, horses are just as vital a part of Border life as ever
they were, continuing to enrich the culture and the economy of the people
who live here. The Scottish Borders still has more horses per head of
population than any other part of Scotland. For centuries horses have been
our lifeblood and we’re passionate about them. Those of us living in this
beautiful part of Southern Scotland are proud of our rich equestrian
heritage.
Horses carried the men of the Borders into many a battle. It was
on horseback too that the ‘bounds’ were checked as the people of the Borders
protected their own from marauders. Their legacy lives on in some of the
spectacular ‘Common Ridings’ – unique, annual, equestrian festivals that
celebrate our indebtedness to our Borders‘ ancestors. If you are contemplating a visit to the Scottish
Borders, you have a wonderful treat in store. The Scottish Borders is world
famous for its equestrian heritage. For centuries the undulating Southern
Uplands with their mystical, rolling hills and intriguing wooded ‘hopes’ and
‘cleuchs’ harboured a culture of tough, fighting men. The Border Reivers, who
thieved cattle to settle scores and to keep themselves and their
families alive are now notorious the world over. These men depended
entirely on the horse for their survival.
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Sir Walter Scott, the famous Scottish writer,
lived at Abbotsford near Melrose. Visit his house to see his collections of
memorabilia from Scotland's story. Scott is buried at Dryburgh Abbey, one of
four abbeys that once were influential in Borders life. The abbeys themselves
were destroyed in 1544 by the invading armies of the English King Henry VIII,
when Mary, Queen of Scots was a young child. Today, the ruins remain beautiful
and poignant. A major visitor centre at Jedburgh Abbey explains the abbeys'
former importance. The monks first developed the skill of working with wool, the
forerunner of the textile industry that still thrives in the area today.
Lochcarron of Scotland in Selkirk is just one of the many textile mills and
shops where visitors can see manufacturing processes and purchase the finished
goods.
The Romans also passed this way. They named
their main camp Trimontium, as it lay below the triple-peaked Eildon Hills near
Melrose. The Trimontium Exhibition in this handsome little town tells the story
of the Roman occupation. Melrose also has other features to detain you,
including an Abbey and a Teddy Bear museum. This is typical of the area, plenty
of interest in towns and countryside, with walking, cycling, riding and golf -
including The Roxburghe, the first championship golf course in the Scottish
Borders.
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