Things you didn't know about Berwickshire

Modern geology has its roots in Berwickshire
James Hutton, a farmer from Berwickshire, was the first man to notice that the earth's surface is continually regenerating itself, driven by heat from within.

Berwickshire is home to the Coldstream Guards
Britain's oldest army regiment in continual existence frequently returns to the Berwickshire town of Coldstream for ceremonial events.

Mark Twain had a fiery relationship with Berwickshire
On visiting Berwickshire's Ayton Castle in 1873, the writer fell in love with its dining-room fireplace and insisted on buying it and taking it home. The fireplace now stands in the Mark Twain Museum in Hartford, Connecticut, USA.

David Bellamy established Britain's first voluntary marine reserve in Berwickshire
The St Abbs and Eyemouth Reserve is spread over five miles of the Berwickshire coast and is famed for its unusually clear waters. It's very popular with scuba divers.

The Berwickshire Hunt is Scotland's oldest
The hunt dates back to the 17th century.

John Menzies served on Berwickshire County Council
The famous newsagent's family seat was at Kames, near Duns in Berwickshire.

Mrs Brown was filmed in Berwickshire
The Oscar-winning depiction of Queen Victoria's relationship with one of her groomsmen, John Brown, starring Judy Dench and Billy Connolly, was filmed both at Duns Castle—which doubles as Balmoral—and along the Berwickshire coast at Cockburnspath.

Alec Douglas Home died in Berwickshire
The Hirsel in Berwickshire was the Conservative prime minister's family seat, and is where he died in 1995 aged 92.

Berwickshire gave us "dunces"
The philosopher John Dun Scotus was born in Duns, Berwickshire. Opponents of his thinking took to calling his followers "Dunses", from where we get the word "dunce", meaning someone incapable of being a scholar. In 1991 the Vatican pronounced Scotus "venerable"—the first step on the road to sainthood.

Berwickshire hosts the only auto rally on mainland Britain raced on closed public roads
The "Jim Clark" is named after the Berwickshire former world motor-racing champion. There is also a museum dedicated to Jim Clark in the Berwickshire town of Duns.