Newcastleton, also called Copshaw Holm, is a village in

Liddesdale Liddesdale, the valley of the Liddel Water, in the County of Roxburgh, southern Scotland, extends in a south-westerly direction from the vicinity of Peel Fell to the River Esk, a distance of . The Waverley route of the North British Railway runs ...

, the Scottish Borders, a few miles from the border with

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, on the

Liddel Water Liddel Water is a river running through southern Scotland and northern England, for much of its course forming the border between the two countries, and was formerly one of the boundaries of the Debatable Lands. Liddel Water's source is beneat ...

. It is within the

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

of Roxburghshire. It is the site of

Hermitage Castle Hermitage Castle is a semi-ruined castle in the border region of Scotland. It is under the care of Historic Scotland. The castle has a reputation, both from its history and its appearance, as one of the most sinister and atmospheric castles in ...

. Newcastleton is east of

Langholm Langholm , also known colloquially as the "Muckle Toon", is a burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, southern Scotland. Langholm lies between four hills in the valley of the River Esk in the Southern Uplands. Location and geography Langholm sits nort ...

, south of

Hawick Hawick ( ; sco, Haaick; gd, Hamhaig) is a town in the Scottish Borders council area and historic county of Roxburghshire in the east Southern Uplands of Scotland. It is south-west of Jedburgh and south-south-east of Selkirk. It is one ...

, north of Carlisle and south of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

History

Newcastleton was built as a result of the land clearances in the 1790s when people were forced to move from Old Castleton village. There has been a folk festival at Newcastleton since 1970. "Copshaw Holm" (another name for the village) is celebrated in the song "Copshawholm Fair", written by David Anderson in 1830, as sung by Willie Scott among others. In 2020, the local community purchased 5,000 acres (2,000 hectares) of Langholm Moor for £3.8m from Buccleuch Estates.

Amenities

A community-owned unmanned

fuel station A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Ga ...

opened after much community fund raising in 2018. The former Townfoot Church (erected in 1803) now houses the Liddesdale Heritage Centre, a museum devoted to the culture and history of

. Newcastleton Forest is near the village, and is home to one of the 7stanes mountain bike centres. Newcastleton is the location of Whithaugh Park, an outdoor activity and residential centre run by

Rock UK Rock UK (formerly Barnabas Adventure Centres) is a national UK Christian charity that is passionate about developing young people, bringing adventure into learning in the outdoors, to transform young lives. Rock UK welcome 70,000 visitors to their ...

, offering groups of young people the opportunity to try out a variety of different outdoor activities. The village also possesses the amenity of an astroturf multi-sport pitch (Polysport), as well as a gym and football pitch. There is a nine-hole

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". ...

on the Holm Hill.

Common riding

Since 1998, an annual light-hearted common riding was established, being held on the same weekend as the music festival. The elected principal to represent the event is referred to as The Tub, aided by the principal's Right and Left Legged men/women, wearing the village colour of yellow. Unlike other ridings in the Borders, the Copshaw Common Riding is done on bicycle. The Copshie participants

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...

the over-formality of nearby

and other pageants, by proceeding on bikes, giving four cheers instead of three, toasting with

tequila Tequila (; ) is a distilled beverage made from the blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila northwest of Guadalajara, and in the Jaliscan Highlands ('' Los Altos de Jalisco'') of the central western Mexican s ...

instead of

whisky Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden ca ...

, and not taking themselves too seriously.

Other events

A traditional music festival is held every year in Newcastleton, around July. The Holm Show is an annual traditional agricultural event.

Transport

The village has direct bus services to

and Carlisle.

Newcastleton railway station Newcastleton railway station served the village of Newcastleton, Scottish Borders, Scotland from 1862 to 1969 on the Border Union Railway. History The station was opened on 1 March 1862 by the Border Union Railway. It was situated on the nort ...

provided rail services from 1862 until its closure in 1969 as part of the

Beeching cuts The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Development of the M ...

Economy

Agriculture and forestry is the main provider of employment, many people also travel to Carlisle, Hawick & Langholm for work. Buccleuch Estates have an office in nearby Langholm and own much of the land surrounding Newcastleton.

Local media

Newspaper

The local newspaper is the ''Eskdale & Liddesdale Advertiser''.Eskdale and Liddlesdale Advertiser
/ref> The paper is commonly referred to locally as 'The Squeak'. Established in 1848, the newspaper was the first penny newspaper in Scotland.

Radio

Outside of the nationwide services it is possible to receive transmissions by:- *

BBC Radio Cumbria BBC Radio Cumbria is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Cumbria. It broadcasts on FM, AM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios in Carlisle. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of 71,000 listener ...

BBC Radio Scotland BBC Radio Scotland is a Scotland, Scottish radio station, radio network owned and operated by BBC Scotland, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts a wide variety of programmes. It replaced the Scottish BBC Radio 4 opt-out service of the same na ...

Radio Borders Greatest Hits Radio Scottish Borders and North Northumberland is an Independent Local Radio station based in Edinburgh, Scotland, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Greatest Hits Radio Network. It broadcasts to the Scottish Borders ...

* West Sound

References

External links

360° Virtual Tour of NewcastletonThe Official Newcastleton WebsiteMusic Festival SiteHistory of LiddesdaleThe Holm ShowRCAHMS/Canmore record for Newcastleton
{{authority control Villages in the Scottish Borders