The Border Reivers were families who lived along the Anglo-Scottish border from the late 13th to early 17th centuries. Major clans included the Armstrongs, Elliots, Grahams, Johnstones, and Nixons. They engaged in cattle rustling, raiding, and feuding across the poorly defined border region during a period of ongoing warfare between England and Scotland. These activities were driven by economic necessity, weak central authority, and generations of conflict that made the borderlands ungovernable. Families lived in fortified towers called peel towers and bastle houses for protection. After the Union of the Crowns in 1603, James VI/I pacified the region through military campaigns, executions, deportations, and legal reforms that ended the reiving culture by the 1620s.
The Scottish Borders is a large council area covering 1,800 square miles along the England-Scotland border. With a population of approximately 115,000 people across towns including Hawick, Galashiels, Peebles, Kelso, and Jedburgh, the strong economy is based on agriculture, forestry, textiles, and tourism. The landscape consists of rolling hills such as the Cheviots and Lammermuir Hills connected by river valleys including the Tweed, Yarrow, and Teviot to a dramatic coastline with windswept cliffs tumbling to the rocky North Sea shoreline. Historical sites include the ruins of Melrose, Jedburgh, Kelso, and Dryburgh abbeys, along with numerous peel towers and Border castles. The region is known for the Common Ridings festivals, rugby heritage and textile weaving.