Battle of Skaithmuir

The Battle of Skaithmuir was a skirmish of the First War of Scottish Independence. It took place near Coldstream, on the Anglo-Scottish border, in February 1316. The skirmish was fought between the Scottish captain Sir James Douglas, and an English raiding party from Berwick upon Tweed. The English were having difficulty getting supplies to Berwick after the Scots had won back the surrounding territory and the garrison was facing starvation. Under Edmond Caillou, a Gascon knight, about 80 men set out from Berwick to raid Teviotdale for cattle. Douglas, having been informed that there were fewer in the raiding party, set out to cut them off. Douglas won, and Caillou was killed. Douglas later called it the most difficult fight of his long career. The Scots under Douglas and Thomas Randolph went on to capture Berwick in April 1318.

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River Till, Northumberland

The River Till is a river of north-eastern Northumberland. It is a tributary of the River Tweed, of which it is the only major tributary to flow wholly in England. Upstream of the locality of Bewick Bridge, 8.5 km to the southeast of Wooler the river is known as the River Breamish. It rises on Comb Fell in the Cheviot Hills. Its tributaries include Wooler Water, which originates in the Cheviots, and the River Glen in Glendale. It meets the Tweed a mile to the west of Twizell Bridge, 4 km downstream of Coldstream. According to local folklore: Tweed said to Till "What gars ye rin sae stil?" Says Till to Tweed, "Though ye rin wi' speed And I rin slaw Whar ye droon yin man I droon twa" Recent environmental projects have included an attempt to conserve the native brown trout.

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The Hirsel

The Hirsel is a Category A Listed stately home near Coldstream, Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders council area. It has been a seat of the Earls of Home since 1611, and the principal seat following the destruction of Hume Castle during the mid-17th century. It was the home of the former British prime minister, Sir Alec Douglas-Home, the 14th Earl of Home.

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Twizell railway station

Twizell railway station served the historic village of Twizell, Northumberland, England, from 1861 to 1955 on the Kelso Branch.

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Lake of the Hirsel

The Lake of the Hirsel or Hirsel Lake is an artificial body of water and Site of Special Scientific Interest near Coldstream in Berwickshire in Scotland. It is set in the grounds of The Hirsel, home of the Home family and of the late Alec Douglas-Home, former British prime minister. It covers around 27 acres (110,000 m2). It is roughly square shaped, around 300–400 metres in breadth. It is one of only a few bodies of water in Scotland to be known as a lake; the others being the Lake of Menteith, Pressmennan Lake, Lake Louise (within the grounds of Skibo Castle) and Cally Lake (near Gatehouse of Fleet). There is also a sea bay near Kirkcudbright known as Manxmans Lake. All other major bodies of water in Scotland are known as lochs.

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