The fact that the County town of Berwickshire is Duns, in Scotland and not Berwick, in England, might give an insight into the turbulent history of this County and the Borders in general! These boundaries were not made by gentlemen's agreement! Why? Well Berwickshire was once known as the "Merse" a richly agricultural land lying just to the north of the River Tweed. It was, not surprisingly, fought for and luckily for the Scots, it is still part of Scotland. However, we lost Berwick-upon-Tweed to Northumbria and the easternmost part of the River itself. The Tweed is the artery of the Borders and most of the industry of the area has been closely associated with it especially agriculture and the woollen and cashmere industry. In fact, the River forms part of the south eastern border with England, from Paxton in the east to Birgham (near Coldstream) in the west. For the rest of its length going west, the Tweed remains in Scotland. The main towns in Berwickshire include Duns ... < more >