The Arts In Berwick -- Other Narratives
Medieval Theme Parks

The Borders writer Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) can be fairly said to have invented the historical novel and popularized the notion of a romantic tartan-clad Scotland. His novels were rooted in his research into Scottish history, and he created his own 'theme park' of a house at Abbotsford on the banks of the Tweed. Crammed with evocative relics, some authentic, it was a place of devoted pilgrimage throughout the 19th.Century.

Until 1927 Abbotsford visitors taking the train to Kelso would have left a Berwick station bedecked with castle turrets. An irony, considering the railway had destroyed most of the original Berwick castle in 1850.

Sir Walter Scott's 'theme park' -- Abbotsford

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