As you approach the Scottish Border from the south on the A68 through Northumberland, you reach a summit called Carter Bar the other side of which opens out a new green vista stretching for miles. This is Roxburghshire named after a once prominent market town between Jedburgh (Jethart of old) and Kelso, called Roxburgh.
This was once the largest market town between Newcastle and Edinburgh but two mysteries surround it. Firstly, why did it disappear almost entirely? Today it is a farming hamlet. Secondly, could the ruins of Roxburgh Castle set at the confluence of the River Tweed and Teviot Water have been the Camelot of national folklore fame? The debate will carry on for many years in the future.
Two geographical features dominate Roxburgh. The first is the River Tweed which flows through Kelso, Melrose and Galashiels (in Selkirkshire) all of which have harnessed the power of the river to operate their textile mills. Market forces being as they are, the textile industry ...
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