Scottish Borders

Oh, yeah.

..and found himself, over the next week, after he got back to the North, the Scottish Borders, with over £300 worth of fines.

From what? Totted up from being in London, not knowing how to pay the congestion charge, not realising...

Well, he's an idiot, then.

Thomas of Ursuldown was a real man.

He appears in 13th century records, connected with the Scottish Borders, and later became famous under the other name, Thomas the Rhymer.

Over time, stories gathered around him that described Thomas not simply as a poet, but as a prophet whose knowledge came from an encounter with the Queen of Faerie.

According to the traditional tale, Thomas met her beneath the Eildon Hills near Melrose.

Our guest might have grown up in Cambuslang, but has a deep-rooted love for the green spaces and our rural landscapes.

She now lives in the Scottish Borders with a passion and career for helping tourism businesses grow and communities thrive.

She's a mum, a wife, an island lover and an advocate for Scottish tourism in particular.

I'm delighted to welcome Fiona Drane to the podcast.

I love that.

And I really love that you got to get the train and then the ferry to Bute with the dog, like kind of your first taste of freedom.

And I know you're joining us today from Arran, which is also special, although you now live in the Scottish borders.

Can you kind of talk us through your upbringing? You said there you lived in cities for 30 years, grew up in Campus Lang.

We are much less certain when its story began.

Welcome to Hidden Histories of the Scottish Borders.

My name's David, and today we're exploring Kirkhope Tower and the difficult business of separating what the stones suggest, what tradition remembers, and what the records actually tell us.

Before the Tower, there was land worth possessing.

As you look, give the quieter parts of history a moment too.

The tenants, the household, the years when it was simply a home in a dangerous world.

My name is David and you've been listening to Hidden Histories of the Scottish Borders.

For more information on Kirkhope Tower and other historical places, please see the website thistleandtime.scot. And before I go, please note that the next episode will appear in two weeks' time on the 12th of November as the podcast moves to fortnightly releases.

Hello, my name's Mark Muller-Stewart and welcome back to the Beyond Borders Scotland podcast for a new season of talks, debates and topical discussions from this year's Beyond Borders International Festival, held each year at the end of August at Traquair House, the oldest inhabited house in Scotland, set in the stirring countryside of the Scottish Borders.

As America heads for the midterm elections in November 2026, We thought we would share with you a riveting talk from this year's festival, exploring the state of the American Union under President Trump, with veteran USA Watcher and BBC broadcaster Jim Nocatee, in conversation with Republican lawyer Greg Nanzatia, former Chief Nominations Counsel to the Senate Judicial Appointments Committee and CEO of the Rule of Law, and host of the podcast Checks and Balances, as together they explore whether the US still has a government of laws rather than men, and why more and more lawyers and judges are standing up to Trump in defence of the US Constitution.

The talk begins with an abridged reading of the 1776 US Declaration of Independence by actor Oliver Cookson.

This is another exciting milestone on the road to the Tour de France Grand Depart.

coming to scotland in twenty twenty seven seeing the full route confirmed from the streets of edinburgh through midlothian the scottish borders and dumfries and galloway really brings home what a special moment this will be for communities right across the country.

Having the eyes of the world on Scotland once again can only be of benefit to our economy and will bring a further boost to our tourism sector as people head to Scotland to watch one of the world's most popular sporting events.

I would encourage people across Scotland to get involved.