Discover Scottish Borders - Discover the Scottish Borderlands

Mark Nicol

Historian – Filmmaker – Blogger –
Guided Tours – Group Speaker

My Latest Video / Blog

Live Presentation in Galashiels Feb 2023

Thursday 9th February 2023 I will be giving a live presentation in the Volunteer Hall, Galashiels at 7.30pm

Entrance Fee £4 ….. pay at the door

Delve into the untold history of Galashiels during the time of the Border Reivers, and how a lot of this history connects to a mysterious ancient drawbridge which once stood in the area.

See all my work

About Discover Scottish Borders

Discover Scottish Borders is a website and social media stream to showcase an intrepid explorer of the Scottish Borders and the borderland between Scotland and England. I cover the Myths and legends as well as strange places – I also have a love for the wildlife that frequents this area! My website is for everyone who has a connection with the Scottish Borders, whether you live here, have visited (or even want to visit), your ancestors came from here or if you just like the look of this beautiful region!

Technically, as it stands today the Scottish Borders is a council areal formed in 1975 – Although my work is not to be confused as solely concentrating on the council area but rather the whole of the Anglo-Scottish border area that has seen some of the most extravagant moments in history of the British Isles
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 Scottish Borders has seen evidence from Pictish tribes, Roman Strongholds right through to important battles and documented papers that played a vital part of the several Wars of Independence.

Mark Nicol is the driving force behind Discover Scottish Borders, meticulously researching, scouting and presenting his videos that are unique and full of informative information and bringing the Borders Regions history and tales to life that are almost forgotten.
This is all done in Mark’s free time and days off!

It all started off one day with Mark exploring the local region and producing certain videos that were a way of documenting his explorations with a little bit of a fun element to add to better viewing and in context with Mark’s personality.

Things started to get a bit more serious when, with the near completion of the Borders Railway he decided to research the tourist capabilities of the areas of Galashiels and Tweedbank. This lead to a series of videos for visitors coming off the train to explore, such as walks and places to visit.

This captured a larger audience and viewers and in turn gave Mark a thirst to seek out the history and folklore of the regions in depth. At the time of writing this Mark’s YouTube channel has close to 200 videos each with its own story to tell.

The videos reach out far a field to the like of the USA, Canada, Australia and South Africa where people have a heart in the area from previous ancestors.

Discover Scottish Borders is growing all the time and becoming the hub for information of the Borders Regions.
Recently Mark has appeared in a BBC Regional Broadcast with his own segment telling the tale of the Border Reivers.
Mark is also in demand as a speaker at local community groups where he showcases his self-learnt knowledge.

Also, Mark takes carefully selected visitors to the region who want to explore the area and see for themselves the delights the regions hold.

When starting out and developing Discover Scottish Borders, Mark’s aim was to get people out and visiting these places and seeing for themselves. This can be gauged by the amount of correspondence we receive on the interest of subject matters.

Not only that, Discover Scottish Borders has been the forerunner of encouraging bloggers and YouTubers to produce their own content of their visit to a site and the exploration they have had, leaving a greater footprint of information as so more visitors may enjoy and discover the delights of our region.

In 2018 Mark was a finalist for “Visit Scotland: Scottish Thistle Award” as Regional Ambassador. Which is basically the Oscars of Scottish Tourism.

Things are looking well for Discover Scottish Borders!

More Of My Work

Unbelievable Galashiels wildlife

by Mark Nicol | 21 February, 2016 | Videos | 0 Comments

A man spots otters and peregrine falcons while out walking in Galashiels

Re-build Hadrian’s Wall

by Mark Nicol | 29 January, 2017 | Uncategorized | 0 Comments

A nonsense spoof ….. surely this could never happen in modern civilised country???

Galashiels to the Black Hill

by Mark Nicol | 16 May, 2019 | Videos | 0 Comments

A man treks 12 miles from Galashiels to Black Hill near Earlston taking in some history and scenery on the way.

Finding Merlins Grave

by Mark Nicol | 26 May, 2016 | Videos | 0 Comments

Proof that Merlin the Wizard existed in the Scottish Borders…..

Edin’s Hall Broch

by Mark Nicol | 21 October, 2015 | Videos | 0 Comments

They don’t make them like this no more!
Edin’s hall Broch near Duns

Gala Aisle Gravestone Translation

by Mark Nicol | 9 August, 2019 | Videos | 0 Comments

A man finds the translation of a 17th century Latin inscribed gravestone in Galashiels, which remembers the battle of Dunbar

Music of the Trees

by Mark Nicol | 27 November, 2020 | Videos | 0 Comments

A man uses a clever piece of tech to convert electric impulses of plants into music. He goes searching for the legendary ancient Yew Trees at Traquair in the Scottish Borders to hear their song.

Scotland’s Yew Trees

by Mark Nicol | 28 February, 2020 | Videos | 0 Comments

A man searches for Yew trees in the Scottish Borders at the site of a 6th century abbey Old Melrose. None of these Yews have been recorded before.

The Brothers

by Mark Nicol | 16 February, 2019 | Videos | 0 Comments

The brothers standing stones, Smailholm tower and the Cow Stone

Scottish Borders Trees

by Mark Nicol | 10 June, 2019 | Videos | 0 Comments

A man identifies some common large trees in the Scottish Borders.

Winter Wildlife on the River Tweed

by Mark Nicol | 6 February, 2016 | Videos | 0 Comments

We think a lot more could be done to promote the area for wildlife tourism.

Ancient Borderline Strongholds

by Mark Nicol | 2 March, 2019 | Videos | 0 Comments

A man searches for 3 ancient Border Reiver castles. Strongholds of the Douglas and Oliver families right on the Scotland – England Borderline.

Cave of the Black Douglas

by Mark Nicol | 9 December, 2016 | Videos | 0 Comments

A man searches for the mysterious Ancrum caves and then goes on to look for a cave reputedly used by the Black Douglas himself near Jedburgh

Quest for the Crystal Well

by Mark Nicol | 17 November, 2016 | Videos | 0 Comments

A man searches for the mysterious Crystal Well in the Scottish Borders, with some terrifying results…

Romans in the Borders week on Discover Scottish Borders

by Mark Nicol | 1 February, 2021 | Bloggings, Videos | 0 Comments

A week’s worth of my videos on how the Romans lived and influenced the Scottish Borders area.

Scottish Borders Coast

by Mark Nicol | 10 March, 2016 | Videos | 0 Comments

A man investigates the site of a pivotal moment in World War 1

Trimontium- Scotland’s Greatest Roman Site / Sight

by Mark Nicol | 3 August, 2018 | Videos | 0 Comments

A man films the outline of Trimontium Roman Fort near Melrose during the drought conditions of 2018 with real dramatic results.

Scottish Borders Hill Forts…HOW MANY?!

by Mark Nicol | 22 October, 2020 | Videos | 0 Comments

A man reveals the huge number of hill forts in the Scottish Borders and goes to investigate one of these at Dreva Craig near Peebles.

Fast Castle Scottish Borders Tours

by Mark Nicol | 22 January, 2020 | Videos | 0 Comments

A man talks about his tours of the Scottish Borders this year while visiting the spectacular ruins of Fast Castle.

The Romans in the Scottish Borders

by Mark Nicol | 18 January, 2017 | Videos | 0 Comments

A man investigates the earthworks on top of Woden Law near Jedburgh and also looks at the Roman road Dere Streeet and Pennymuir Roman camps.

Day and Extended Tours

I operate day tours and extended tours originating in the Scottish Borders and outreaching to the rest of Scotland & parts of England to tell the tales of the Anglo-Scots Borderlands

The Itinerary is customised to aid history buffs, spiritual seekers, family heritage research and general appreciation of the Scottish Borders beautiful landscapes and rolling hills

Find out more

Group Speaking

I am also available to provide talks for groups who are interested in the history of the Borders Region

As you can see, Mark has a real passion for the unknown and forgotten history and presents his videos in a unique way to engage an audience and bring a fun way of keeping the Borders Spirit alive”

Contact me

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