Explore The Borders

Your gateway to the brilliant borderlands

David Pike

Trimontium – the place of the three hills

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As the Roman Empire pushed northwards into Scotland the organisational genius that was Rome followed, establishing transport and road systems, supply camps and fortified bases.

One of the most impressive, lying in the shadow of the impressive Scottish Borders landmark of the Eildon Hills, was Trimontium or ‘the place of the three hills’.

Standing on the banks of the River Tweed east of Melrose and extending past the magnificent Leaderfoot viaduct, Trimontium must have been an impressive sight in its day, the like of which the local tribes, the Votadini and the Selgovae, had never seen.

Its 370-acre profile is best illustrated by aerial photographs and you will find a selection displayed alongside artefacts and curios at the Trimontium Museum, www.trimontium.co.uk/visit/museum/ in Melrose – open seven days a week from April to October.

It is managed by the Trimontium Trust, a group of local people that has enjoyed support from the late Rosemary Sutcliff and Lindsey Davies, both famous for their fictional forays into Roman times.

It is managed by the Trimontium Trust, run by a group of local people that enjoyed support from the late Rosemary Sutcliff and from Lindsey Davies, both famous for their fictional forays into Roman times.

Special mention is appropriate here for Sutcliff’s wonderful ‘Eagle of the Ninth.’

It has a direct link with Trimontium by the fact that men from the Ninth ‘Hispania’ legion were stationed there.

The borderlands also provided a backdrop for her novel Frontier Wolf.

The museum provides an interesting but by no means finished story of Trimontium, which is thought to have been abandoned in 180AD.

Evidence of Roman connections were uncovered when a railway cutting for the Waverley Line was started in 1846.

Trimontium’s importance was assured when local amateur archeologist James Currie carried out excavations on behalf of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.

As layer after layer was uncovered it became clear that Trimontium was the ost important Roman military complex between Hadrian’s Wall and the Antonine Wall.

Excavations have revealed some of Trimontium’s secrets, including an amphitheatre, but much more is waiting to be done. Helpful boards and viewing platforms have been erected around the site and guided walks take place throughout the summer months.

Jedburgh’s Blue Plaque Trail

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Jedburgh Blue Plaque Trail takes the visitor on a trip back in time, unfolding the town’s fascinating history, highlighting significant events and its famous sons and daughters.

It’s a gentle two-mile walk (3.2km), starting in Abbey Place, that links 32 blue plaques, placed at points in interest around the town. The roll call includes …

The Ramparts – French troops reinforced the Scots to defend Jedburgh against the English in 1548 and their commander, General D’Esse constructed gun platforms that give this raised area its name.

James Thompson (1700-1748) – Famous for the words to “Rule Britiannia,” James Thompson was the son of a local minister. On moving to London he became a well known poet.

James Veitch (1771-1838) – Developed skills as an engineer, mathematician and astronomy becoming famous for his telescopes and other scientific instruments.

Mary Somerville (1780-1872) – Known as the ‘Rose of Jedwood’ Mary became famous for her writings on mathematics, astronomy and the sciences. Somerville College, Oxford was named in her honour and she became the first woman, other than a royal, to appear on an RBS banknote,

A special booklet with a map of the trail and detailed information abut each plaque is available from the Visit Scotland tourist information centre and selected outlets in the town.

A key feature of the design is the inclusion of a QR (Quick Response) code on each plaque that links to the town website and more information.

Heralded as the historic gateway to Scotland, Jedburgh is an essential stop for visitors from all over the world and the Blue Plaque Trail helps to bring its illustrious past to life.

You can pick up the Jedburgh Blue Plaque Trail booklet from Visit Scotland’s information centre next to the Town Hall.

International spotlight for Melrose rugby tournament

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Exactly when and where Ned Haig experienced his ‘eureka’ moment and came up with the idea of seven-a-side rugby seems forever destined to remain lost in the mists of time.

But one thing is certain, the flash of inspiration from the Borders lad working as a butcher’s apprentice in Melrose has earned him a seat at the top table of sporting history and a special place in local folklore.

It has also bequeathed a lasting legacy, to Melrose Rugby Football Club, the town and the region, of a magnitude that no one, least of all Ned and his pals, could have dared imagine.

Six years after its inception in 1877 the club found itself somewhat strapped for cash and in desperate need of a decent idea to raise funds. Players and members “for want of money racked their brains” – and, necessity being the mother of invention, along came Ned’s brainwave for a sevens rugby tournament.

Reflecting on the first 25 years of sevens success in an article entitled ‘An old Melrose Player’s Recollections,’ written a hundred years ago, Ned explained: “The idea struck me that a (rugby) football tournament might prove attractive but as it was hopeless to think of having several games on one afternoon with 15 players on each side the teams were reduced to seven.”

Simple but absolutely brilliant. Before long sevens rugby had spread far and wide, destined to become an essential and hugely popular part of the game.

The fact that sevens rugby today is played internationally and has its own world cup – teams compete for the Melrose Cup of course – puts Ned shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Charles Alcock, William Lynn and Geo Lefrevre whose efforts gave the world the sporting classics of the FA Cup, the Grand National and the Tour de France respectively.

Every April since 1883, with enforced exceptions brought about by war (and more recently Corona virus), the flags have fluttered enthusiastically at Melrose RFC’s Greenyards ground to celebrate the original and most respected sevens tournament in the world of rugby.

A long way from Rome 

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It might have been the extreme edge of Empire, home to the farthest flung frontier outposts, but the Romans certainly left a size -12 sandal print on the borderlands of Northumberland and Scotland.

The man we have to thank is Gnaeus Julius Agricola, and while he might not be the first name that comes to mind when considering Roman related tourism in the borders – he deserves more than a passing nod of gratitude.

His legacy, as the Roman Governor of Britain (77-85AD), to this unique and beautiful region was to oversee a drive northwards from York and for establishing the first road from England into Scotland.

Dere Street, already a main highway from York to Corbridge, was extended through the wild countryside of Northumberland and the Scottish Borders, and on to Edinburgh and the Firth of Forth.

Nearly 2,000 years on, long stretches of Dere Street are now part of the main A68 road north from Corbridge, while original routes that deviate into the borderlands north of Rochester, are never far away from the main road.

The A68 is a natural route north for an outstanding Roman experience that includes Hadrian’s Wall, Vindolanda, Housesteads and Chesters, to the joys of Northumberland and the Scottish Borders.        

Hadrian’s Wall, built between 122-30AD extends for 80 miles (128 km) from coast to coast across northern England. The wall, still magnificently preserved over long stretches, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.

Forts, milecastles and garrison towns, are lasting evidence of Rome’s substantial presence in this part of the world. 

But long before the wall was even thought of the Romans had taken ‘Pax Romana’ much further north. With England and Wales no longer a cause for concern, the Romans were marching across the Cheviots near Carter Bar (the present day border dividing England and Scotland) in 79AD. 

In front of them lay the green and pleasant lands of today’s Scottish Borders stretching north as far as the eye could see and, as we know, new horizons always presented a particular challenge to the Romans. 

Sooner or later curiosity got the better of them and they had to find out what lay beyond. For the next hundred years or so the Romans invested considerable time and effort in this, the most northerly part of their Empire.

Dere Street, was driven north to reach the Firth of Forth by 81AD. Its main centres through the English and Scottish borderlands took in Corbridge, Bryness and Cappuck before passing to the east of Trimontium near Melrose and on to the coast. 

Stretches are still very much in evidence in the Scottish Borders

Trimontium, arguably the most important Roman base throughout the Roman occupation of Scotland, supported a frontier presence that ebbed and flowed over 120 turbulent years, ending in a final campaign led by the Emperor Septimius Severus in 210AD.

And for a more detailed picture we have compiled the following useful links.  

Borderlands history that’s still as large as life

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Entwined into the borderlands rich history, still as large as life, it’s the R word – for Romans and Reivers – that continues to reign supreme.

The legacy left behind by the Romans, who marched north from Corbridge to the Solway Firth, is unparalleled; a network of forts and settlements that are still giving up their secrets, crowned by Hadrian’s Wall, a magnificent UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Roman Wall stretches over 70 miles from the Solway Firth to Wallsend on the River Tyne and links a collection of well preserved forts and camps including Birdoswald, Housesteads, Chesters and Vindolanda.

In 2003, a National Trail was opened that follows the line of the wall from Wallsend to Bowness-on-Solway, a walk that weaves through the magnificent Northumbrian countryside and on to Cumbria.

The route north from Corbridge to the Firth of Forth at Edinburgh was the Roman road of Dere Street, sections of which are still clearly in evidence, particularly in the Scottish Borders, where the most significant Roman presence is found at Trimontium, a major fort and settlement near Melrose.

Trimontium was abandoned after an inconclusive campaign into Scotland led by the Emperor Septimius Severus in 210AD and, like all of the region’s rich Roman legacy, has secrets waiting to be discovered.

It is commemorated with the Trimontium Museum in Melrose

A thousand years on and another borderlands legend was stirring – the Border Reivers.

The line of the Scottish English border, set and agreed in the 13th century, was a minor distraction for the Reivers who held a tight and bloody grip on local life for nearly 300 years.

They raided and plundered as far south as Durham and Carlisle as the borderlands became the badlands and the Reivers a byword for ruthlessness.

We have James the Vl of Scotland (and First of England) to thank for destroying the power of the Reivers, doling out plenty of rough justice of his own along the way.

Today the Borders Reivers reputation lives on in local folklore and and is marked with an annual festival at Hawick in the Scottish Borders…thankfully a peaceful and jovial affair.

A small town with a big history

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Every year in April the border town of Melrose becomes the focus of international attention.

The occasion is the Melrose Sevens, a rugby event devised and first played in the town in 1877. Cue TV cameras, about 16,000 visitors (that’s six times the resident population) and rugby union’s red carpet for some of the sport’s top players,

The Sevens is one of the biggest events held in the Borders and attracts followers from all over the world.

But this small town has plenty of other claims to fame and is well used to welcoming visitors from all over the world. Its enduring appeal can be measured by the number of excellent hotels and guest houses it supports.

Close by is one of the biggest Roman presences in Scotland, the supply camp of Trimontium, and wherever you go in Melrose the Abbey is sure to be not far away.

The abbey was founded in 1136 by the Cistercian monks from Rievaulx in Yorkshire. They were know as white monks because of the unbleached wool of their habits.

St Cuthbert was part of the abbey community before he moved on to the island of Lindisfarne off the Northumberland coast and eternal glory at Durham as one of the north’s best loved saints.

Melrose is the starting point of the 64-mile St Cuthbert’s Walk which criss-crosses the borders on its way to Holy Island.

The abbey is also reputedly the final resting place of Robert the Bruce’s heart, after it had been taken for use as a talisman by Scots fighting to remove the Moors from Spain.

The mason’s who helped build the abbey have been linked to the freemasons’ Lodge of Melrose – St John No 1. It houses a plaque bearing the mason’s coat-of-arms with the date 1156 and proven antiquity with a minute book dating back to 1674.

Melrose Lodge, standing in the High Street, was the last independent lodge to join the Grand Lodge of Scotland in 1891.

A visit to Melrose will not disappoint.