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Carter Bar is situated 58 miles south
of Edinburgh, 10 miles south of
Jedburgh, 46 miles northwest of
Newcastle.
This is the most scenic route to
travel between Scotland and England, with
Carter Bar on the border at 418 metres /
1,371 ft in height, a great place to stop
for Photos, Views, and a Snack.
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Large Click On Map for the area Towns and
Top Attractions.
The A696 Road runs up from Newcastle and
joins the A68 just south of Carter Bar.
The A68 road runs up from the scenic town of
Corbridge on
Hadrians Wall,
36 miles between Carter Bar and Corbridge. This
road is amazing with great views, but dangerous
as there are a lot of hidden dips.
Jedburgh is the first Town, or last
in Scotland, depending on which way you are
traveling. Jedburgh is popular for its large
Abbey, Castle Jail Museum, and Mary Queen of
Scots House Museum.
Up to the 400s, when the Romans ruled
England, the Border between Scotland and
England was Hadrian's Wall that ran straight
across from Carlisle in the
west to Newcastle in
the east.
The England - Scotland Border, roughly
what is seen today, was established in 1237 at
the Treaty of York. This Border runs from just
north of Carlisle in the west, in a northeast
direction, through Carter Bar 36 miles north of
Hadrians Wall, then on to just north of
Berwick Upon
Tweed, 63 miles north of Newcastle.
The vast area of Northumberland, fought over
for centuries, was then officially part of
England.
Raids over the Border, in both directions,
for livestock and valuables, continued from
1237 until King James VI
of Scotland became King of England as well in
1603. With the two countries then under the
same ruler, King James put an end to the
pillaging and murdering along the Border, with
executions and taking land off many Families or
Clans.
These small raiding forces were known as
Border Reivers.
They not only crossed the border to raid and
kill, but often carried out raids and killings
on their own side, sometimes with their own
family, such as the Kerr's of Ferniehirst and
the Ker's of Cessford who fought each other for
decades.
Most families along the border lived in
fortified houses, known as Tower Houses on the
Scots side, or Bastille Houses on the English
side.
Larger military conflicts between the two
countries continued as well, with the Percy
family, Dukes of Northumberland, of the mighty
castles at Warkworth and
Alnwick, used
by the Royals of England to control the English
side of the border, with Henry Percy
(Hotspur) being the most famous in the late
1300s.
The main rivals of the Percy family were the
mighty Douglas Clan
from southern Scotland, with their main castles
being Hermitage 9 miles north of the
border, and Tantallon 33 miles east of
Edinburgh.
With Carter Bar being on the boundary line,
it was one of a number of places where Taxes
were collected from people and goods crossing
the Border.
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