Border Reivers & Social Isolation: A Lesson from the Past

Into the Forests of the Tweed Valley

In a time of lockdown, when life slowed to a strange, uncertain pace, I decided to get out—not far, not abroad, just into the ancient forests of the Tweed Valley. There, hidden beneath layers of time and foliage, lies something forgotten: Cardrona Tower. Once home to the Govern family, this tower was the ultimate form of social isolation—centuries before any of us heard the words “stay at home”.

With restrictions easing, and the world outside feeling like a blend of eerie silence and daily chaos, I went looking for something solid. Something old. Something that speaks to survival through hard times.

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The Year Was 1607…

The last laird of Cardrona, Govern of Cardrona, was slain by John Scott of Tushielaw, brother to the infamous Walter Scott. It was a violent time in the Scottish Borders—a time when King James VI was trying to bring peace to the land by breaking the power of the Reiver families.

Spoiler: he didn’t quite manage it.

Instead, blood feuds, land grabs, and quiet vengeance ruled the region. Towers like the one I was searching for weren’t just homes. They were fortresses—built for protection, defence, and survival. They were designed for isolation.

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Finding the Forgotten Tower

The deeper I pushed into Cardrona Forest, the more I realised: this was no ordinary walk in the woods. The tower wasn’t signposted or tourist-ready. It was hidden, buried in time. But eventually, there it was—a moss-covered relic of the past, standing defiantly against nature’s reclaiming hand.

The stone walls thick enough to deflect arrows or cannonballs, the slits for windows just wide enough to shoot through—but never let anything in. It was haunting. It was humbling.

This was the original “stay-at-home” order.

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Reiver Quarantine: No Netflix, No Tesco, No Hope of Help

Imagine this: the enemy is outside. Your family is inside. There’s no phone, no radio, no help coming. You eat what you’ve stored. You drink what you’ve collected. You wait. In silence. In fear. In hope.

This was real social isolation. And yet, our ancestors survived it. Not just survived—they endured, they adapted, and they handed us the resilience we now carry in our bones.

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Heritage as Strength

The Scottish Borders have always been difficult to control—that’s the point. Kings and queens tried. Armies failed. The people scattered across the globe, but the spirit stayed rooted in the hills.

Borderers have always been stubborn, clever, and unyielding. And in the face of a global pandemic, it’s worth remembering that history doesn’t only live in books or museums—it lives in us.

So if you’re holed up in your house, feeling the strain of modern isolation, remember this:

Your ancestors lived in stone boxes for months on end…
With no plumbing…
And definitely no coconut oil toilet paper.

You’ve got this.

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Stay Strong, Stay Safe, Stay Border

Whether you’re in Galashiels, Selkirk, Hawick, or a thousand miles away in Canada, Australia, or the U.S.—if you’ve got Border blood, you’ve got Border strength.

So hold fast. Stay kind. Stay tough.
And if you need a little inspiration, remember Govern of Cardrona—he might not have made it through, but he damn well gave it a go.

Mark