The often referred to simply as the '''Borders''', is one of 32 in the west,
South Lanarkshire and
West Lothian in the north west,
City Of Edinburgh ,
East Lothian ,
Midlothian to the north; and the
Non-metropolitan Counties of
Northumberland and
Cumbria in
England to the south. The administrative centre of the area is
Newtown St. Boswells .
The area was created in 1975, by merging the
Former Counties of
Berwickshire ,
Peeblesshire ,
Roxburghshire and
Selkirkshire and part of
Midlothian , as a two-tier
Region with the
District s of Berwickshire,
Ettrick And Lauderdale ,
Roxburgh , and
Tweeddale within it. In 1996 the region became a
Unitary Authority area and the districts were wound up. The region was created with the name ''Borders''. Following the election of a shadow area council in 1995 the name was changed to ''Scottish Borders'' with effect from 1996.Notice of change of name of local authority area, ''Edinburgh Gazette'', 26 May 1995
Geographically the region is hilly, with the
River Tweed flowing west to east through the region. In the east of the region the area that borders the River Tweed is flat and is known as 'The Merse'. The Tweed and its tributaries drain the entire region with the river flowing into the
North Sea at
Berwick-upon-Tweed , and forming
The Border With England for the last twenty miles or so of its length.
The term ''Central Borders'' refers to the area in which the majority of the main towns of
Galashiels ,
Selkirk ,
Hawick ,
Jedburgh ,
Earlston ,
Kelso ,
St Boswells ,
Newtown St Boswells ,
Melrose and
Tweedbank are located.
Historically, the term
Borders has a wider meaning, referring to all of the
Burghs adjoining the English border, also including
Dumfriesshire and
Kirkcudbrightshire — as well as
Northumberland ,
Cumberland and
Westmorland in England.
Roxburghshire and Berwickshire historically bore the brunt of the conflicts with England, both during declared wars such as the
Wars Of Scottish Independence , and armed raids which took place in the times of the
Border Reivers . Thus, across the region are to be seen the ruins of many castles, abbeys and even towns.
The people of the Scottish Borders are very proud of their heritage and often speak of themselves as ''Borderers''.
Although there is evidence of some , the latter of which developed into its modern forms of
English and
Scots .
The region has no working railway stations. Although the area was well connected to the
Victorian Railway System , the branch lines that supplied it were closed in the decades following the
Second World War . A bill has been passed by the
Scottish Parliament to extend the
Waverley Line , which would be a commuter service from
Edinburgh to
Stow ,
Galashiels and
Tweedbank . Today, the
East Coast Main Line is the only railway which runs through the region, with
Edinburgh Waverley ,
Berwick-upon-Tweed and
Carlisle being the nearest stations.
The area is served by buses which connect the main population centres. Express bus services link the main towns with rail stations at Edinburgh and Carlisle.
The region also has no commercial airports; the nearest are
Edinburgh and
Newcastle , both of which are international airports.
The main roads to and from the region are:
- Abbey St. Bathans , Ashkirk
- Broughton , Burnmouth
- Chirnside , Clovenfords , Cockburnspath , Coldingham , Coldstream
- Denholm , Dryburgh , Duns
- Earlston , Eddleston , Ettrick , Ettrickbridge , Eyemouth
- Foulden
- Galashiels , Greenlaw
- Hawick
- Innerleithen
- Jedburgh
- Kelso , Kirk Yetholm
- Lauder , Lilliesleaf , Longformacus
- Melrose
- Newcastleton , Newtown St. Boswells
- Peebles
- Roxburgh
- Selkirk , St. Abbs , St Boswells , Stow , Stichill
- Teviothead , Town Yetholm , Traquair
- Walkerburn , West Linton
