Medieval Borders

Discover Rheged, the lost British kingdom beside the Scottish Borders: Urien, Taliesin, Trusty’s Hill, the Solway and its fall to Northumbrian power.

Follow the Gododdin riders from Edinburgh to Catraeth around AD 600, through the Borderlands, Welsh poetry, Arthur and Hawick’s Teribus tradition.

Explore Degsastan in AD 603: Æthelfrith, Áedán, the possible Borders battlefield and the struggle that helped create the kingdom of Northumbria.

Discover the lost medieval town of Roxburgh near Kelso: its royal streets, castle, people and the Anglo-Scottish wars that led to its disappearance.

How prized Borders wool made Roxburgh a royal trading centre and Berwick Scotland’s richest port — and how war broke the commercial world that connected them.

The early medieval Scottish Borders rose from the ruins of the Gododdin and Selgovae. Between the seventh and eleventh centuries, kingdoms clashed, monasteries flourished, and the Battle of Carham in 1018 fixed the frontier that still marks the line between Scotland and England.

Peebles, a royal burgh in the heart of the Scottish Borders, hides centuries of stories in its lanes and landscapes. 🏰 Explore medieval ruins, legendary sites, and timeless traditions.

The Highlands bred a hardy, semi-nomadic people shaped by rugged terrain and cattle drives, while the Lowlands nurtured settled farms and burgh life. 🏞️ This geographic divide forged two cultures, echoing through Scotland’s clans, conflicts, and customs.

Follow the Border Abbey Trail to uncover the stories behind Jedburgh and Melrose Abbeys — once vibrant centres of faith, now hauntingly beautiful ruins. ⛪ Their stones echo with tales of monastic life, medieval architecture, and the scars of Scotland’s turbulent past.

In 1113, Prince David founded Britain’s first Tironensian monastery in Selkirk — a bold experiment in monastic life. ⛪ Though later moved to Kelso, its quiet legacy lit the flame of Scotland’s great medieval abbeys.

I set out to hunt down every movie location that used the Scottish Borders as its backdrop — from epic castles to quiet valleys captured on screen. 🎬 The Borders may be hidden in real life, but on film, they shine.

Among the haunting hills of the Yarrow Valley lies the tale of The Douglas Tragedy — a Border Ballad rooted in blood and betrayal. 🏰 The search leads to a ruined tower once tied to the Black Douglas and a mysterious set of grave-marking stones known as the Douglas Stones.

Among the crumbling walls of Elibank Castle, a search begins for the elusive and unsettling False Widow spiders. 🕷️ Blending ancient ruins with modern fears, this creepy encounter brings a new kind of chill to the Scottish Borders.

Touring Loch Ness and Skye offers some of Scotland’s most breathtaking scenery — from the mysterious depths of the loch to the dramatic peaks of the Old Man of Storr. 🏞️ Waterfalls, castles, and Highland magic await around every bend.

A brief look at Horsburgh Castle near Peebles, where a sixteenth-century tower occupies ground associated with an earlier hillfort.

The once-great royal burgh of Roxburgh now lies buried beneath fields, its legacy reduced to just two surviving stone relics. 🏰 In this exploration, those weathered fragments become the last whispers of a lost medieval town that once rivalled Edinburgh.

Along the winding River Liddel in the Anglo-Scots Borderlands, a search begins for two powerful medieval sites — Liddel Castle and the mighty Liddel Strength. 🏰 Once strategic fortresses in the wars of Edward I and Sir William Douglas, these ruins now guard the forgotten edges of a turbulent past.

Eckford Churchyard holds a chilling collection of macabre artefacts — from iron jougs once used to shame sinners, to watchtowers built to guard against body snatchers. ⛓️💀 These grim relics tell dark tales of faith, fear, and the fight to rest in peace.

This year marks 1000 years since the Scottish Borders and Lothians became part of Scotland — a legacy shaped by the decisive Battle of Carham in 1018. ⚔️ We investigate how Malcolm II and the Scots, alongside the men of Strathclyde, defeated the Northumbrians and redrew the border that still stands today.

Perched above the Leader Water, the ruins of Whitslaid Tower stand as a silent testament to 300 years of Lauder family strength and Border conflict. 🏰 Built in the 15th–16th century with thick vaulted walls and winding stairs, this peel tower once guarded a rugged stretch of Berwickshire.

Here are some pictures from our visit to Soutra Aisle, a haunting and atmospheric ruin with a remarkable past. Once part of a medieval hospital and religious complex on the edge of the Lammermuir Hills, Soutra offers breathtaking views and echoes of ancient healing, pilgrimage, and monastic care. 🕍🌿

Wandering the hills and valleys around Jedburgh, a search begins for lost and ruined churches that once echoed with prayer and pilgrimage. ⛪ The trail leads to the heart of Jedburgh Abbey — where the mystery of who lies buried there may explain why it became one of Scotland’s most sacred sites.

Step into the past and explore the Then and Now of Cavers Castle — once a grand seat of Border power, now a hauntingly beautiful ruin nestled in the rolling hills of Roxburghshire. Witness how time, conflict, and nature have shaped this storied stronghold of the Douglas family.

Forgotten castles drift through a dream — one hidden beneath Selkirk’s soil, another clinging to Berwickshire’s cliffs. Were they ever real, or just echoes in the Borders mist?