Wandering through the scenic landscape of the Borderlands, you might stumble upon curious stones and markers that whisper tales of the past. One such haunting relic is the Meuchel Stone, near Horndean in Berwickshire. This weathered grave marker commemorates a packman—a term used to describe an itinerant trader in the 19th century who roamed rural […]

From the earliest Neolithic settlers to modern-day artisans, sheep farming has shaped the region’s economy, culture, and landscape. Powered by the river, and later wind and steam, early mills transformed local wool into high-quality textiles sold across the globe. The hardy Border Cheviot sheep, bred in the uplands of Ettrick, Yarrow, and the Cheviot Hills, […]

Books possess a remarkable power to whisk us away to different times and places. The Borders has long been a muse for writers, inspiring them to create enduring poetry, ballads, and literature that beautifully depict our landscape. Sir Walter Scott drew on Scottish history and landscapes to inspire his timeless classics including several books which […]

The River Tweed flows out to the North Sea at Berwick-upon-Tweed where this spectacular view is waiting for you. The pier extends for about half a mile from the north side of the River Tweed into the harbour mouth. The pier was constructed 1819-1825 by John Rennie with the lighthouse, designed by Joseph Nelson, added […]

The Tweed ‘kettle’ was a custom whereby gentry living near the River Tweed would invite guests to a bankside picnic with salmon boiled in a metal fish kettle. The Guild of Freemen is known to have held a kettle in 1675 and during the 19th century, the Sheriff of Berwick used to hold an annual […]

It was a chilly but gloriously sunny day in January 2022 when I first visited Paxton House, beside the River Tweed near Berwick. Storm Arwen had roared through the region in November, flattening swathes of woodland and damaging properties, including taking a bite out of our roof in North Northumberland. Paxton’s beautiful gardens and grounds […]