Interesting Borders facts
Famous Sussex People
Ettrick
Did you know that what is arguably the most literary inn in Scotland is not in Edinburgh or Glasgow , but by St Mary’s Loch near Ettrick in the Borders? Tibbie Shiels was loved by James Hogg , Scott , Thomas De Quincey, Carlyle and Robert Louis Stevenson among others. Some writers in the 19th century would walk there from as far away as the Scottish capital to meet and converse with others of like mind, and enjoy the sublime scenery.
Innerleithen
Did you know that Traquair House near Innerleithen is Scotland’s oldest continuously occupied dwelling? It dates back to at least 1107. Bonnie Prince Charlie stayed there in 1745 during the disastrous and final Jacobite rising . When he left the Bear Gates were closed, only to be reopened when a Stuart sat on the throne once more: they are supposed not to have opened since.
Kelso
Did you know the market square in Kelso is Scotland’s largest? Four cobbled street lead into the vast cobbled square, which is reminiscent of the style you’d see in French cities like Lille, both in its spaciousness and the elegance of the buildings – in this case Georgian and Victorian - around it. A reminder of a less stylish aspect remains at its heart – the mark where the old bullring stood for the cattle market still discernible.
Peebles
Did you know that Lyne Church, four miles from Peebles, is Scotland’s smallest church? Not exactly huge from the outside, its yard thick walls make the interior cosier still. Not some miniscule medieval chapel, this was finished in 1645, though on the site of a much earlier place of worship.
Famous Borders people
Alicia Spottiswoode | Andrew Lang | Anne Redpath | Arthur Lapworth | Bill McLaren | Chay Blyth | David Brewster | Francis Scott | George Riddell | Henry Lyte | James Thomson | James Ballantyne | James Hogg | Jim Clark | John Ballantyne | John Jeffrey | John McEwen | John Pringle | Mary Somerville | Mungo Park | Robert Chambers | Robert Paterson | Thomas Pringle | William Chambers | William Fairbairn | William Laidlaw |
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