The turbulent history of the Scottish Borders is filled with warfare, feuds and survival — and no story captures it better than that of the Border Reivers. In this special extended episode, we explore the rise of the Border Reivers, the notorious riding families who dominated the Anglo-Scottish frontier for centuries. Shaped by relentless conflict between Scotland and England, they built an economy based on livestock raiding, ransom and blackmail, leaving their mark on every Peel tower, castle and ruin across the Borders.

Told from a distinctly Scottish Borders perspective, this episode uncovers the origins, power struggles and lasting legacy of these infamous reiving families, whose influence defined one of the most lawless and dramatic chapters in Scottish history.

Music credits:

Undertow | Snowfall | I Walk With Ghosts | 

All the above music tracks by Scott Buckley

https://soundcloud.com/scottbuckley

Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com

Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

For further information on places visited in this podcast series, please see https://thistleandtime.scot