Halidon Hill

Halidon Hill rises 180 metres above the border town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, two kilometres west of its centre. A Bronze Age burial mound once crowned the summit, and later a fort stood there. The A6105 road runs along the southern slope while the A1 skirts the north-east flank. The name itself points to its military past. The hill became famous in 1333 when Edward III placed longbowmen on its slopes and defeated the Scottish army led by Archibald Douglas. In 1560 an English force camped here on its way to the siege of Leith during the Scottish Reformation. Mary, Queen of Scots, rode up in 1566 and met the Marshal of Berwick before her horse kicked her. James VI visited in 1588, gave gold crowns to officers, and returned in 1595 to discuss a royal progress that never happened. Today the hill offers wide views across Berwick’s Elizabethan walls and the River Tweed. A grassy path leads to the summit where the old mound can still be traced. Visitors walk among heather and gorse while reading the battle’s story on information boards. The surrounding farmland stretches to the Cheviots on clear days.