The Scottish Borders is a council area in south-east Scotland, running from the Tweed valley to the English frontier. It covers 4,732 square kilometres (1,827 sq mi) and had a population of 116,821 at the 2022 census. The council has its headquarters at Newtown St Boswells, a village of under 1,200 people.
The area was formed in 1975 from the counties of Berwickshire, Peeblesshire, Roxburghshire and Selkirkshire. Hawick is the largest town, followed by Galashiels and Peebles.
| Country | Scotland, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Status | Council area |
| Former counties | Berwickshire, Peeblesshire, Roxburghshire, Selkirkshire |
| Area | 4,732 km2 (1,827 sq mi) |
| Population (2022) | 116,821 |
| Population (2011) | 113,870 |
| Largest town | Hawick |
| Administrative centre | Newtown St Boswells |
| Council | Scottish Borders Council |
| Main river | Tweed |
Towns and Villages in the Scottish Borders
The council area has 218 named settlements on record. Seven of them are the traditional Border burghs, Hawick, Galashiels, Selkirk, Peebles, Jedburgh, Kelso and Lauder, each with its own common riding or festival week. The rest are farm villages, mill hamlets and coastal fishing settlements on the Berwickshire shore.
- Abbey Saint Bathans
- Abbotrule
- Abbotsford
- Allanton
- Ancrum
- Appletreehall
- Ashiesteel
- Ashkirk
- Auchencrow
- Ayton
- Bassendean
- Bedrule
- Belses
- Bemersyde
- Birgham
- Blackadder
- Blainslie
- Blyth Bridge
- Boleside
- Bonchester Bridge
- Bonjedward
- Bowden
- Bowhill
- Branxholme
- Briery Yards
- Broadmeadows
- Broughton
- Buccleuch
- Buckholm
- Burnmouth
- Byrecleugh
- Caddonfoot
- Calzeat
- Camptown
- Cappercleuch
- Cardrona Mains
- Carlops
- Castleton
- Cavers
- Cessford
- Chapelhope
- Charlesfield
- Chesters
- Chirnside
- Chirnsidebridge
- Cleuch Head
- Clintmains
- Clockmill
- Clovenfords
- Cockburnspath
- Cocklawfoot
- Coldingham
- Coldstream
- Cove
- Craigerne Cottage
- Craik
- Crailing
- Cranshaws
- Crookston
- Darnick
- Denholm
- Drumelzier
- Dryburgh
- Dunglass
- Duns
- Earlston
- East Croft
- East Gordon
- Eccles
- Eckford
- Eddleston
- Edgerston
- Ednam
- Edrom
- Eildon
- Ellemford
- Ettrickbridge End
- Eyemouth
- Fishwick
- Fogo
- Foulden
- Foulshiels
- Fountainhall
- Frogden
- Galashiels
- Gattonside
- Gavinton
- Gilston
- Glenbreck
- Gordon
- Grantshouse
- Greenlaw
- Hallyne
- Harrietsfield
- Hassendean
- Hawick
- Heiton
- Heriot
- Hobkirk
- Hoprig
- Horncliffe
- Horndean
- Houndridge
- Houndslow
- Houndwood
- Howgate
- Hownam
- Hume
- Huntlywood
- Hutton
- Innerleithen
- Jedburgh
- Kelso
- Killochyett
- Kirk Yetholm
- Kirkhill
- Kirkhope
- Kirkton
- Kirkton Manor
- Kirkurd
- Ladykirk
- Lamancha
- Lamberton
- Langshaw
- Lanton
- Lauder
- Legerwood
- Leitholm
- Lempitlaw
- Lennel
- Lilliesleaf
- Lindean
- Lintalee
- Linton
- Longformacus
- Longnewton
- Makerstoun
- Maxton
- Melrose
- Midlem
- Minto
- Mordington Mains
- Morebattle
- Mossburnford
- Mountain Cross
- Nenthorn
- Nether Monynut
- Netherurd
- New Channelkirk
- Newcastleton
- Newmill
- Newstead
- Newton
- Newtown St Boswells
- Nisbet
- Nisbet Hill
- Old Cambus
- Oxnam
- Oxton
- Paxton
- Peebles
- Peel
- Philiphaugh
- Polmood
- Polwarth
- Preston
- Priesthaugh
- Priestrig
- Pyatshaw
- Redpath
- Redscarhead
- Renton Barns
- Reston
- Roberton
- Romannobridge
- Roxburgh
- Saint Abbs
- Saint Agnes
- Saint Boswells
- Sandholm
- Saughtree
- Selkirk
- Sinclair’s Hill
- Skirling
- Smailholm
- Sourhope
- Southdean
- Sprouston
- Stanhope
- Steele Road
- Stichill
- Stobo
- Stockbridge
- Stow
- Swinside Townhead
- Swinton
- Teviothead
- Tibbie Shiels
- Torwoodlee
- Town Yetholm
- Traquair
- Tushielaw
- Tweedbank
- Tweedsmuir
- Tythehouse Farm Cottages
- Upsettlington
- Walkerburn
- Wedderlie
- Wellnage Myre
- West Foulden
- West Linton
- Westruther
- Whitsome
- Whitton
- Wilton
- Wolfelee
- Yarrow
- Yarrowford
Geography
The Tweed drains almost the whole council area. It rises at Tweedsmuir, gathers the Ettrick, Yarrow, Teviot and Leader, and reaches the sea at Berwick-upon-Tweed just inside England. For its last stretch the river is the international boundary.
Hills ring the valley: the Moorfoots and Lammermuirs to the north, the Cheviots along the English line, and the Ettrick and Tweedsmuir hills to the west. The three volcanic cones of the Eildon Hills stand over Melrose. The Berwickshire coast is a cliff shore with fishing villages at Eyemouth, St Abbs, Burnmouth and Cove.
Neighbours are Midlothian and East Lothian to the north, South Lanarkshire and Dumfries and Galloway to the west, and Northumberland across the border to the south.
Demographics
The 2022 census counted 116,821 residents, up 2,951 on 2011. Density is about 25 people per square kilometre, one of the lowest in mainland Scotland. Roughly a third of residents live in the four central towns of Hawick, Galashiels, Selkirk and Melrose.
The age profile is older than the Scottish average, and it has been getting older: the hill parishes have lost working-age households while the northern edge around Peebles, Innerleithen and Tweedbank has drawn commuters since the railway reopened in 2015.
Economy and Local Life
Sheep farming built the Borders and still shapes it. Blackface and Cheviot flocks graze the hills, and the wool fed the mill towns below. Hawick and Galashiels remain knitwear centres; Hawick specialises in cashmere, with Johnstons, Hawico and Lyle and Scott among the names still working there.
Tourism runs on the abbeys, on Abbotsford near Melrose, the house Walter Scott built, and on mountain biking at Glentress and Innerleithen, part of the 7stanes trail network. Forestry, food processing, and public services provide much of the remaining employment. Rugby union is the dominant sport, and the seven-a-side game was invented at Melrose in 1883.
History
David I founded four great abbeys here in the twelfth century, at Melrose, Kelso, Jedburgh and Dryburgh. Their ruins still dominate the towns that grew around them, and Dryburgh holds Walter Scott’s grave.
For three centuries the Borders were a war zone. English and Scottish armies crossed repeatedly, and the reiver families, Armstrongs, Elliots, Kerrs and Scotts, raided cattle on both sides until the union of the crowns in 1603 ended the trade. The peel towers scattered across the hills date from that period. Common ridings, held each summer in the burghs, began as annual rides to check the town boundaries.
Getting There
The A1 runs along the coast through Berwickshire. The A68 crosses the hills from Edinburgh over Carter Bar into England, the A7 links Hawick and Galashiels to Edinburgh and Carlisle, and the A72 and A702 serve the upper Tweed.
The Borders Railway reopened in 2015 and runs from Edinburgh Waverley to Tweedbank, with stations at Stow and Galashiels. Berwick-upon-Tweed, on the East Coast Main Line, is the nearest fast rail link for the eastern half. Edinburgh Airport is about an hour from Galashiels by road.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the population of the Scottish Borders?
116,821 at the 2022 census, up 2,951 on 2011.
What is the largest town in the Scottish Borders?
Hawick. Galashiels and Peebles come next, followed by Kelso, Selkirk and Jedburgh.
Where is the council based?
At Newtown St Boswells, chosen as a central location in 1975 rather than for its size.
How many towns and villages are there?
218 named settlements are on record, most of them villages and hamlets of fewer than 500 people.
Which counties did the Scottish Borders replace?
Berwickshire, Peeblesshire, Roxburghshire and Selkirkshire, merged in 1975.
What postcodes cover the Scottish Borders?
Mostly TD1 to TD15, with EH44 to EH46 covering Innerleithen, Peebles and West Linton.