From the 14th to the 17th century, survival in the turbulent borderlands between England and Scotland depended on family, loyalty and the strength to defend what was yours.

In this episode of the English Heritage Podcast, Amy Matthews explores the violent world of the Border Reivers, the families who controlled this contested landscape for centuries, through fortified farmhouses and ruined peel towers.

Historian and writer Alistair Moffat and English Heritage curator Andrew Roberts uncover how raiding, blackmail and shifting allegiances shaped everyday life along the Anglo-Scottish frontier, leaving traces that are felt through the landscape and culture of the Borders today.

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