The county of Berwickshire is one of the most sparsely populated
areas of the Scottish mainland, and is an area of mixed upland
livestock farming and lowland, arable farming, with approximately
one third of the population living in coastal communities, where
fishing still has a foothold. The area is located to the south-east
of Edinburgh, and forms the Eastern border with England.
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Map of the parishes of Berwickshire |
The County of Berwickshire (shown above), which is in Scotland, is now isolated
from the former county town, Berwick-upon-Tweed. Berwick
itself was part of
Scotland before the country of England formally existed (the Kingdom of
Scotland captured it along with Edinburgh, the Lothians and the
modern day Borders from the old Angle Kingdom of Northumbria after
the battle of Carham). After changing
hands 13 times the town was finally lost to the English in the 15th
century and formally became part of England in 1853, having been an independent territory (of England,
but not in it) until it was finally absorbed as part of the County
of Northumberland. Most Scots yearn for the
town to return to Scotland and, indeed, the local football team,
Berwick Rangers, already play in the Scottish Second Division, while
Berwick also play rugby union in Scotland rather than England. A
recent ITN Tonight programme referendum in Berwick recorded 60% of
voters backing a return to Scottish administrative control.
Only time will tell if UK Government politicians respect the desire
of locals to join Scotland in its exciting future.
According to the 2001 Census of Population, there were some
21,844 people resident within the seven Berwickshire electoral wards
of Scottish Borders Council and an average population density of
0.22 persons per hectare across its 99,000 hectares. This compared
with 0.65 persons per hectare for Scotland, itself sparsely
populated compared to England, Wales or Northern Ireland.
Significantly, the population of the area has declined by some
40% since its heyday in the 1861 Census, at a time when agricultural
production was highly labour-intensive. This decline has been at a
rate only exceeded by areas of the north-west Highlands and the
Islands of Scotland.
Much of the population of Berwickshire today has migrated from
other parts of Scotland, but around one quarter has come from
outside Scotland, especially England and latterly Poland and other
new EU member states. These new Scots, as we regard them, have found a hearty
welcome in the County and make a valuable contribution to our
economy, public services and cultural life.
However, today, the area suffers from continued decline in the traditional
employment sectors of agriculture, fishing and manufacturing while
there are poor training opportunities and poor levels of public
transport across the county. In addition, there are few centres of
graduate employment to retain young people, resulting in a loss of
many of our talented young people to the bright lights and
opportunities of the cities of Edinburgh, Newcastle and beyond.
Despite these problems, there is much about Berwickshire to be thankful for and
proud of, including stunning scenery, tremendous natural, built and
cultural heritage and, of course, its wonderful people.
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