Selkirkshire

Selkirkshire is a traditional county in the south of Scotland. It is the smallest of the four counties that were brought together under Scottish Borders Council.

Geography & Economy

The A7 in Selkirk

The small county town of Selkirk lies on the steep slopes above the Ettrick Water in the east of the county, and apart from half of Galashiels, which lies astride the Roxburghshire border, is the only town in the county. The rest is a sparsely populated landscape of hills and valleys, the lowest slopes used for farming but above are vast forestry plantations rising to the open moorland of the hilltops.

There are few traditional industries in the county, farming and forestry being important to the economy. Even tourism has little impact, although the opening of the Borders Railway to Galashiels may help this. It has also brought the towns closer in to the Commuter Belt for Edinburgh, although it is still early days for the impact to be felt fully, and the road network may need some improvement to provide full benefit.

Roads

Yair Bridge over the Tweed

There are few roads in Selkirkshire, even allowing for the fact that it is a small county. Away from the towns and the Tweed Valley, most through routes are either A or B roads, but there are large areas with no roads at all. The A708 stretching south down the valley of the Yarrow Water is an enjoyable drive, as are several of the B roads as they wind through the hills.

The Tweed Valley has a number of interesting bridges crossing the river, a mixture of old stone arches and newer concrete spans. Most non-trunk roads within the traditional county are maintained by Scottish Borders Council. The only trunk roads are the A7 and A6091, which are managed by Transport Scotland

Route	From	To	Length
A7	Edinburgh	Carlisle	94.3 miles	View
A72	Hamilton	Galashiels	52.2 miles	View
A7a	Hawick	Edinburgh		View
A699	Selkirk	Kelso	18 miles	View
A707	Near Clovenfords	Selkirk	7.0 miles	View
A708	Moffat	Selkirk	33.4 miles	View
A6091	Galashiels	Newton St Boswells (N)	4.9 miles	View
A6092	High Buckholmside	Melrose Road	0.6 miles	View
B709	Heriot	Langholm	57.6 miles	View
B710	Bowland	Caddonfoot	3.6 miles	View
B711	Hawick	Tushielaw Inn	14.1 miles	View
B6360	Lindean	Leaderfoot	7.0 miles	View
B6400	Ashkirk(N)	near Crailing	15.4 miles	View
B6452	High Buckholmeside	Melrose Road	0.52 miles	View
B6459	Bridge Place	Station Brae	0.3 miles	View
B7009	Selkirk	Tushielaw	14.1 miles	View
B7014	Selkirk Bridge	Selkirk (N)	1.3 miles	View
B7039	Bowhill	Aikwood Tower	1.6 miles	View
B7060	Yair Bridge	Boleside (SW)	2.3 miles	View
T26	Carlisle	Edinburgh		View

Key

Motorway

Primary Route

Non Primary Route

Former Motorway

Defunct Route

E Road

Future Motorway

Future Primary

Future Non Primary

Historical Route

Tourist Route

Roman Road

Unbuilt Motorway

Unbuilt Primary

Unbuilt Non Primary

National Cycle Network

Cycle Route

Eurovelo Cycle Route

Junctions

Main Article: Junctions in Selkirkshire

Bridges, Tunnels, and other Crossings

Main Article: Crossings in Selkirkshire