So You Think You Know Scotland #2 The Scottish Borders 

That's so nice! I also am a great fan of the Borders, both for its lovely scenery and also its great love of its traditions. Newcastleton is also sometimes called, I think mainly by locals, Copshaw Holm! I've no idea why! Kind regards, Gordon

Thanks, Dennis. Glad you enjoyed the video. Melrose is such a lovely town! Kind regards, Gordon

Glad you enjoyed it, David! Kind regards, Gordon

Glad you enjoyed this video, Gordon. There's a lot more available on RU-vid, so hopefully you will be able to learn a bit more about Scotland from them! Kind regards, Gordon

@@gordonsscotland8441 I'll try my best Gordon,thanks again 👍

Thanks, Ruth Ann. Glad you liked it. Kerr is a very popular and important name in the Borders. Hadrians Wall is great - imagine if you were a Roman Legionary sent from Italy to serve there! I hope more people can find time to go down to the Borders - its such a lovely part of Scotland. Kindest regards. Gordon

instablaster

A proud Borders name, Craig! Kind regards, Gordon

Scott family here too

Glad you enjoyed it, Chris. That's good you 'found' Jedburgh Abbey! it was there many years ago that I learned the importance in architecture of the arch (which the Romans invented). They had a little display that allowed you to build a simple arch that showed how, when the capstone is finally put in place at the top, the arch can bear considerable weight - hence the Romans (and subsequently us) were able to build large, tall buildings like Jedburgh Abbey! I love learning new things! Kind regards from Scotland. Gordon

Thanks, Cheryl. June and I lived in the Borders for a while and still have a lot of friends there. Its a lovely area with its own distinctive character and charm. Abbotsford House, the home of Sir Walter Scott, is a great place to visit. Kind regards. Gordon

@@gordonsscotland8441 I have seen a lot of pictures of Scotland a nd yes it seems to be a beautiful country but let us not forget it is just a small dot on the crust of the earth. Said that I would still like to visit it in my lifetime before we will have to endure a war. May the lord safe us from that

Glad you enjoyed it! Kind regards, Gordon

Jennifer Germanotta Hi Jennifer. Glad you’re enjoying the videos. June and I haven’t read any Rosamunde Pilcher - will need to keep an eye out for them! Kind regards. Gordon

That would have been a lovely trip, Mary! Kind regards, Gordon

Thanks, Michael, glad you found the video interesting. Whilst 'Sassenach' is seen nowadays as a derogatory term for English people, it was in fact a gaelic word which described everyone who lived outwith the Highlands (ie 95% of the population of Scotland - including myself!) Regards. Gordon

Glad you found it useful, Michael! Kind regards, Gordon

Thanks for this. It is interesting that a specific facial wound should be immortalised in a Scots expression! It shows just how brutal their encounters were. I'll see if I can include it in a future video. Thanks for the suggestion. Kind regards, Gordon

I think the Fenwicks were quite a prominent Northumberland family, David, so they probably would have been involved in reiving. There is a village called Fenwick in Northumberland which you should try and visit! Kind regards. Gordon

Old Northumbria stretched right up to the Forth

Hi Eric. Apologies for the delay in replying but I’ve been a wee bit busy! Bell is a very well known name in Scotland, with the family originating (it is thought) from France and settling in the Scottish Borders, mostly around Annandale. Quite a lot moved to Ulster to live and work there, and probably many would have subsequently emigrated from there to the USA. Sir Joseph Bell was a real life professor in Edinburgh who was Arthur Conan Doyle’s inspiration for Sherlock Holmes, and Alexander Graham Bell changed all of our lives with his invention of the telephone, so you’re in good company! There is a video about Alexander Graham Bell on my RU-vid channel if you’re interested in his life story. I think the clan hasn’t had a chief for many years but there will probably be places on the internet you could find out more info on it. Just a matter of searching! Good luck! Kind regards, Gordon

Thanks, Paul! Kind regards, Gordon

I’ll keep that in mind for a future video, Sissy. My wife and I lived in the town of Moffat for a short period. It is an absolutely beautiful little town - if you get to Scotland you must visit it! Kind regards, Gordon

@@gordonsscotland8441 its definitely on my bucket list!

It’s an unfortunate administrative distinction! Quite a number of years ago, the government in Scotland decided to replace the old ‘shires’, which each had their own local authority, with a smaller number of larger ‘regions’. Needless to say the re-organisation didn’t work, and a subsequent further reorganisation returned many local authorities to the original ‘shires’ model. However, in less populated areas, the regions remained as the local authority. So, we have two local authority ’regions’, Scottish Borders and Dumfries & Galloway straddling what is in effect the historical Border area of Scotland. It’s confusing for everyone! Kind regards, Gordon

Hi Margaret. Glad you're enjoying the videos. Ecclefechan is a lovely wee place, famous for being the birthplace of Thomas Carlyle, the famous Scots historian and philosopher. The Johnstones were a great Border Clan, often at odds with the Douglas, Moffat and Maxwell clans. They have a long history so I'm sure some of your family stories will be correct. Not sure if they fought with Robert the Bruce, but in 1296 (18 years before Bannockburn) Sir John Johnstone is recorded as having sworn an oath of loyalty to King Edward I of England (but so too, at that time, did many other Scottish lords and clan leaders!). I'm going to do a video about the Border Clans as they are an amazing story of their own! I would suggest searching the internet for Clan Johnstone to try and find more info. There will be lots out there! Kind regards. Gordon

My sister in law's Great Great Great Grandmother was Scottish she tells me

That's very interesting, Goldie. The village of Kirk Yetholm in the Scottish Borders was, I believe, the headquarters of the Gypsies for many years and the location of the last crowning of the Gypsy King. Kind regards. Gordon

Hi Richard. Sorry for the delay in replying but been very busy recently! Kirkpatrick is a name from Dumfriesshire which is a county that forms part of the Scottish border with England. However, it was put in a region called ‘Dumfries & Galloway’ during local government reform and therefore (oddly enough!) is not part of the local government region called ‘Scottish Borders’! Does cause confusion! There’s a nice wee village called Kirkpatrick-Fleming. It is the location of ‘Bruce's Cave’ supposedly a cave where King Robert the Bruce hid from the English. Here he is supposed to have watched a spider continually trying to weave its web from one side of the cave to the other, which encouraged him to keep on fighting! Kind regards, Gordon

Hi Donald. I think the family Lumsden originated in Coldingham in the Scottish Borders where they were granted lands at the end of the 11th century. Subsequently, following marriage to the heiress of the Blanerne family, they gained lands and Blanerne Castle became the family seat for four centuries. The remains of the castle are still there. This is a very attractive part of Scotland if you were ever able to visit. Your family also gained lands in Fife and Aberdeenshire. There is a Lumsden Society website that has a lot of information I think would be helpful to you in your quest for knowledge. Here's the link houseoflumsden.com/home/4590845092 Good luck! Kind regards, Gordon

@@gordonsscotland8441 Thanks , most of this info i was aware of . I have been to fife in the 70s . I think the Lumm.valley is somewhere in Coldingham Priory , but where I am not sure of .

Hi there, and thanks for this. I feel really sad and upset this was your experience. Unfortunately there are (hopefully small) elements in Scotland, as in many countries, who take out their misplaced prejudices on minorities and/or neighbours. It's not a new thing, history is littered with them down the centuries, but regrettably it is on the rise in Scotland now. I sincerely hope you may be able, at some time in the future, to return to Scotland for a small break and to give the majority of Scots a chance to show our friendliness. Kind regards, Gordon

Hi Serdar. Thanks for this. The word ‘clearances’ is a very emotive term, especially today. In reality the agricultural revolution that sought to improve yields from farming in Scotland was, in its day, seen an an ‘Improvement’ process, trying to modernise an out of date, inefficient system. Due to the growth in population in Scotland, it was imperative that farming land should start to produce more food than just what was needed to sustain the families who farmed the land, and it was this need that drove the changes. As with all structural changes to society, these can at times be harsh events, and the ordinary man and woman often suffer. Contrary to some current romantic thinking, the English played no part in the agricultural revolution in Scotland - it was a purely Scottish affair between Scottish landowners and their Scottish workforce. Kind regards, Gordon.

@@gordonsscotland8441 Tenner bet that you're a unionist with that response, what a spin on history that is.

Please no politics, Urq, that is not what this channel is for. I am a lover of Scottish history and at all times simply try to detail a balanced view of the subject I am addressing, which is what I think I achieved in the response above. Kind regards. Gordon

@@gordonsscotland8441 Politics and history go hand in hand. The history of Scotland is one of class struggle, dodgy land grabs and colonisation, taken from people who were native to it. I'm not saying that's an isolated incident and I'm aware that many Scots were at it also, but it's a recurring theme throughout the history of the British Empire (and the world), but you worded that as if "well it had to happen in order for society to progress", which is incredibly dishonest. If you truly care about portraying an honest image of Scotland's history then you should have a bit more empathy/sympathy for people who have suffered at the hands of so called "progress". I just hope you don't apply that same attitude to the likes of India, Ireland, the Americas, Africa or any other piece of the planet that has been claimed by wealthy colonialists.

@@gordonsscotland8441 Also, apologies if I sounded incredibly harsh there. I appreciate what you're doing with your videos, it's good for people to learn about their history. I guess everyone has their biases, but there's only one way to learn and that is by challenging these biases. So again, sorry if I came across harshly there, I'm terrible with tone when typing haha. All the best :)

Westruther is a nice wee place, Nigel! Kind regards, Gordon

That's a shame. Perhaps more remote villages such as Newcastleton (sometimes referred to as Copshawholme) are suffering? I would argue, however, that the main Border towns still have an incredibly strong sense of community. Kind regards, Gordon

hello Gordon I wonder if you could tell me if my paternal surnames Thompson and Beattie were septs of any other clan.thanks in advance.

I agree, Jah. In my experience they generally are! Kind regards. Gordon

@@gordonsscotland8441 inevitable the consequences of our actions my brother, kind regards, your fellow souther compatriot

United Kingdom isn't a nation

@@StevieZero Dam, someone has to be critical of just about everything, ok this is not a nation, its an island full, of ass oles.

It's not "Being critical" telling someone Britain isn't a nation. And I think the ass oles are to be mostly found in the English&Welsh parts of the island.

With your surname, Ian, they will be! Kind regards, Gordon

Indeed, Douglas. It is a bit confusing for people outwith Scotland that we have a region that is called 'Scottish Borders' but which doesn't cover the area that originally was the Border country! Kind regards, Gordon

Indeed it would! Kind regards, Gordon

I used the current local government boundaries for this presentation, Scott. You are right in saying the Borders Marches extended westwards well into what is today classified as Dumfries & Galloway. Kind regards. Gordon

@@gordonsscotland8441 That makes sense. I had planned to get to the Armstrong Clan traditional homeland of Langholm this year but COVID obviously cancelled the trip. Some day! Thank you once again for the excellent video. - Scott

My pleasure, Scott. We know Langholm well, having lived and worked there for a while when we were younger. It's a great wee place with a great community spirit! I'm sure you would enjoy being there. Their Common Riding (last Friday in July) is a great event! Kind regards. Gordon

Absolutely! Everyone should pay a visit to the lovely Scottish Borders towns! Kind regards, Gordon