Jedburgh Area

Coldstream Bridge

Jedburgh Abbey

Town Yetholm

Area Main Page

The Jedburgh Area lies north of the central section of the English border and either side of the A68. It stretches from Jedburgh in the west to Coldstream in the north east.

Following the main A68 road from Darlington to Edinburgh you cross the border at Carter Bar and descend towards Jedburgh, Smaller and more traditional in feel than Hawick, Jedburgh is overshadowed by the remarkably complete remains of Jedburgh Abbey, just to the south of the attractive centre of the town. Of the castle that once played such a central part in repeated Anglo-Scottish wars, nothing now remains, though the Victorians did build the Castle Jail on the site.

North of Jedburgh the A68 passes through St Boswells. From here it is possible to follow minor roads that loop round to another of the great border abbeys, Dryburgh Abbey. A couple of miles further to the north east is Smailholm Tower. A little north west of St Boswells is Newton St Boswells.

West from St Boswells the A699 takes you to Kelso, which also grew up around its abbey. Kelso Abbey was once the most powerful and impressive of the four major border abbeys, but thanks to repeated invasions by Henry VIII during the "rough wooing" (see our Historical Timeline) it is the least well preserved of them.

On the edge of the Cheviots south east of Kelso lie the twin villages of Town Yetholm and Kirk Yetholm, the latter being best known as being the start or finish of the Pennine Way. Also close to the border south of Yetholm is the tiny village of Hownam. Also south of Kelso is Cessford Castle, the massive family home of the Kers.

Like Kelso, Coldstream lies on the River Tweed as it makes its way to the sea at Berwick. The town is best known for giving its name to a regiment of the British Army, the Coldstream Guards, formed in 1650. Coldstream lies just half the width of the River Tweed away from England and has had an eventful history as a result.

Less than five miles south east of Coldstream, and definitely in England, is one of the most significant places in Scottish History. Near the tiny village of Branxton is the site of the Battle of Flodden. It was here on 9 September 1513 that a Scottish invasion in support of the French, under attack at home by Henry VIII, ended in utter disaster. King James IV of Scotland and a large proportion of the Scottish nobility were among up to 10,000 Scots killed in a pointless and unnecessary adventure that some believe led inevitably to Scotland's later loss of independence.