Explore The Borders

Your gateway to the brilliant borderlands

Border Towns

Jedburgh’s Blue Plaque Trail

by Leave a Comment

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

by Leave a Comment

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 small town with a big history

by Leave a Comment

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.

International spotlight for Melrose rugby tournament

by Leave a Comment

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.

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.

Hermitage Castle – a study in belligerence

by Leave a Comment

Hermitage Castle in the Liddlesdale Valley was once described as the embodiment of ‘sod off’ in stone.

It’s a wonderful description. Take a walk around its walls, still standing four-square against all-comers amid wild and remote countryside, and it’s obvious this structure was built to defy.

What’s more it has a history to match.

Originally a wooden defence, first mentioned in 1242, it was replaced in the late 1300’s by the imposing stone fortification now standing; a response to ever more hostile exchanges along the English-Scottish border.

The unusual architecture, designed to allow wood fighting platforms to run the length of the tops of the wall added to its all round aggressive appearance.

Over the years its been a home for William de Soulis, so hated by the locals he was boiled alive, and a tomb for Alexander Ramsay who was starved to death by Sir William Douglas in protest to his royal appointment as Sheriff of Teviotdale.

King David ll, it seems, took the hint and awarded Sir William the post!

In 1566, Hermitage, then the seat of the fourth Earl of Bothwell became entangled in in the muddled love life of Mary Queen of Scots.

On hearing the earl had been injured in a clash with border reivers, she rode 25 miles from her residence in Jedburgh, to be at his side. If walls could whisper what secrets Hermitage could tell.

Hermitage Castle is now a Historic Scotland property and well worth a visit. But, it’s a castle with many steps and is not easily accessible to visitors using wheelchairs.

Please check Historic Scotland website for opening times.

Borders exceptional explorer

by Leave a Comment

As young Borders’ student Mungo Park started his medical studies at Edinburgh in the late 1780’s the big news of the day was all about France where revolution had ushered in an era of turmoil and savagery.  

But if these were the worst of times, when Britain faced a protracted war with France that would spread over 25 years, they were also an age of enlightenment and discovery, and Mungo was destined to make his mark on history.

The seventh child of a well to do farmer from Foulshiels, just outside Selkirk, Mungo had his sights set far beyond the Scottish Borders to make his way in the world. When he got the chance of joining an East India Company expedition to Sumatra in 1793 he jumped at the chance.

While in the Far East he indulged an interest in botany and discovered and recorded several new species of flora, studies that would open doors to influential new contacts in London on his return to Britain.  

They included Sir Joseph Banks, himself a famous botanist and explorer who had circumnavigated the world with Capt James Cook, and a leading light in the Africa Association that supported initiatives to open up the ‘dark’ continent.

In 1795 Mungo accepted a commission from Sir Joseph to travel to Gambia and from there to take charge of an ambitious expedition to discover the course of the River Niger.

It was a trip that ended in disappointment and considerable personal suffering as he fell foul of local chiefs and Moorish tribesmen. The fact that he managed to travel hundreds of miles inland to Segou in modern day Mali, and live to tell the tale was an achievement in itself.

It was a trip that ended in disappointment and considerable personal suffering as he fell foul of local chiefs and Moorish tribesmen. The fact that he managed to travel hundreds of miles inland to Segou in modern day Mali, and live to tell the tale was an achievement in itself.

Eventually running out of resources he was forced to make his way back to the coast and then to Britain. The observations he brought with him were published and became an overnight sensation but Mungo’s ambitions to return to complete the assignment had to wait until 1805.

In the interim he married and ran a successful surgery in Peebles.

When the opportunity to make a second trip was offered, again by Sir Joseph, he jumped at the chance. This time he was to head a party that included 40 men from the Royal Africa Corps and builders to construct a boat when the source of the Niger was reached.

Against all advice and logic, he set off in the rainy season from Gambia and before long his party was severely reduced as men died of dysentery. Reaching Segou the depleted party converted a canoe and traveled over 1,000 miles along the river, through country that was often openly hostile and always intimidating.  

The remaining party of Park and handful of men were killed by natives at Boussa rapids, in Nigeria, in 1806. His body was never found but Mungo Park is remembered as a courageous explorer who opened the way for those that followed.

Letters to his wife and friends in the Borders, sent while he was on expedition in Africa, can be seen on display at the Sir Walter Scott courtroom in Selkirk.

In his memory, the Mungo Park Medal is presented annually by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society.

The statue in High Street, Selkirk has four cast corner pieces of African natives by the internationally famous sculptor Thomas Clapperton who was born and brought up in nearby Galashiels.