eagle's eye - the scottish borders
The Scottish Borders are the Debateable Lands, an area fought fought over for centuries by the Scots and English. Our journey crosses the country, beginning where the mighty River Eden enters the Solway Estuary and finishing on the east coast at Eyemouth. In between, we discover Border mill towns nestling in the river valleys, and vast Castles, a relic of violent times.
More peaceful is the Sammye Ling Buddhist monastery at Eskdalemuir, the largest of its kind outside Tibet. But often the landscape hides its previous use. The Devil's Beeftub, north of Moffat, was the perfect spot for memberfs of the Johnston clan to hide the cattle they'd stolen from the English. It marks the beginning of a dramatic landscape as we journey through the Border hills to the River Tweed.
Our final destination is the east coast, and we strike it at Bamburgh, home to another impressive castle. North lies another religious icon, Holy Island, with a monstery dating back to the 7th century. Beyond that is Berwick-upon-Tweed, a much fought over settlement which now lies in England.
In less than half an hour, we make a journey which, by road, would take hours. And on our way, there's a wealth of history and rolling landscape to see.