Tales from the South of Scotland

In Scotland’s Year of Stories here are a dozen tales to inspire and entice visitors to the South of Scotland.

The very landscape of the South of Scotland has been inspiring stories for centuries. Before the words were written, the Borders Ballads were told from generation to generation through oral storytelling. In Scotland’s Year of Stories we want to share some of the tales that make the South of Scotland unique.

Our literary heritage includes Sir Walter Scott, Robert Burns, James Hogg and J.M. Barrie, whose stories were inspired by and about the landscapes that surrounded them. They have left an extraordinary literary heritage for all to explore – from the great homes where they lived, to the stunning settings of their tales to the very stories they left behind, there is much to explore in the South of Scotland.

There is an abundance of tales reaching back through time. You may have heard of the finding in 2014 of a Viking hoard in a field in Galloway. That treasure dated to 900AD and is one of the most significant of its kind throughout the British Isles. Cleaned, restored and carefully curated, the Galloway Hoard is currently on temporary display at the Kirkcudbright Galleries until the 10 July 2022.

This most modern news headline underlines the fact that there are stories, literally buried within the landscape of the South of Scotland. For instance, did you know Melrose was once the site of the most northern amphitheatre, fortress and settlement of the entire Roman Empire? Or that the first Christian settlement in Scotland is tucked in the South West corner of Dumfries & Galloway?

Archaeolog y has revealed what lies buried within, giving us glimpses of the tales of people’s past. It is not always uncovering that is required, but sometimes simple observation. The modern science of geology was founded by James Hutton while he made observations of the rock types along the cliff of the Berwickshire coast in 1788.

A stone of another type marks the place where Robert the Bruce defeated a considerably larger English fighting force at Loch Trool in the Galloway Forest Park in the early years of the Scottish War of Independence.

From the stories contained within the landscape to those penned by mortals, the writers of the South have left their mark indelibly. Have you spiritedly sung Auld Lang Syne on New Year’s Eve? Did you know it was written in the study of a farmhouse near Dumfries, built by and for Robert Burns? A visit to the Borders or Dumfries & Galloway will reveal to anyone familiar with the works of Sir Walter Scott, the landscapes he used as the backdrops and settings for his novels.

Sometimes the crumbling remains of once great houses are all we have left but their legacies remain. One example is the ruins of Elibank Tower in the Tweed Valley. A long running feud in the early 1600s would result in an unlikely union, without which the great Sir Walter Scott would never have been born.

But our stories are not all rooted in the past. An incredible community art project has resulted in the opening just last year of the Great Tapestry of Scotland. Much as the Bayeux Tapestry tells the story of the conquest of England by the Duke of Normandy, so the Great Tapestry of Scotland tells the story of Scotland’s history from 420 million years ago to the present time.

Access to this multitude of tales is becoming easier as new avenues for travellers become available for exploration. The recently opened Whithorn Way traces a path from Glasgow Cathedral to the earliest days of Christianity on the shores of Wigtownshire and St Ninian’s Cave. This multi-day walking route recreates the pilgrimage trails taken over the centuries to pay homage to St Ninian and his priory at Whithorn, where the earliest Christian settlements date to 450AD. These pilgrims have included Robert the Bruce and James IV.

As modern day travellers seek sustainable ways of exploring, businesses across the South of Scotland are responding. This spring saw the launch of an e- bike tour along the Rhins of Galloway to follow the iconic lighthouses that grace the cliff tops. All hold special stories and you may be surprised to find out that many of them were built by the uncle and grandfather of Treasure Island author Robert Louis Stevenson.

And so the South of Scotland has woven stories and experiences together for its visitors to entice them to find out more about this great landscape and all that it has inspired. Connecting with these stories is certain to bring people back wanting to hear more. Here, in the South of Scotland. Here, where stories start.