Hawick ( ; ) is a town in the
Scottish Borders in the south east of
Scotland. It is best-known for its annual
Common Riding.
It is one of the farthest towns from the sea in Scotland, in the heart of Teviotdale and the largest town in the former county of Roxburghshire. It is also known for quality knitwear production.
Hawick has distinctive sandstone buildings with slate roofs.
Local Traditions
The town host the annual
Common Riding, which combines the annual riding of the boundaries of the town's common land with the commemoration of a victory of local youths over an
English raiding party in 1514. In March 2007 this was described by the
Rough Guide tourism guide as one of the best parties in the world.
People from Hawick call themselves "Teries", after a traditional song which includes the line "Teribus ye teri odin".
Transportation
Hawick lies in the valley of the Teviot at the point where the River Slitrig joins it. The
A7 Edinburgh to
Carlisle road passes through the town, with main roads also leading to Berwick upon Tweed (the A698) and
Newcastle upon Tyne (the A6088, which joins the
A68 at the
Carter Bar, south-east of Hawick).
Despite a great deal of local opposition the town lost its rail service in 1969, as part of the controversial Beeching Axe and is now said to be the farthest large town from a railway station in the United Kingdom. However there is a regular bus service to the railway station at Carlisle, away. There are plans to reinstate the line from Edinburgh to Tweedbank, but not to Hawick.
The nearest major airports are at Edinburgh and Newcastle.
Sports
The town is the home of
Hawick Rugby Football Club and a senior football team,
Hawick Royal Albert, who currently play in the
East of Scotland Football League.
Rivalry between the small Border towns is generally played out on the rugby union field and the historical antagonism continues to this day, Hawick's main rival being the similarly-sized town of Galashiels.
Ba game
The Hawick
Baw game was once played here by the 'uppies' and the 'doonies' on the first Monday after the new moon in the month of February. The river of the town formed an important part of the pitch. Although no longer played at Hawick, it is still played at nearby
Jedburgh.
Teri Talk
Many Hawick residents speak the local dialect of
Border Scots which is informally known as "
Teri Talk". It is similar (but not identical by any means) to the dialects spoken in surrounding towns, especially
Jedburgh,
Langholm and
Selkirk. The speech of this general area was described in
"Dialect of the Southern Counties of Scotland" (1873) by
James Murray, this being considered the first systematic study of any dialect. The Hawick tongue retains many elements of
Old English, together with particular vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation, these peculiarities arising from the relative isolation of the town.
Town twinning
Bailleul,
Nord, France
Notable people
Dame Isobel Baillie
Sir Chay Blyth
Brian Bonsor
John Brunton Daykins VC
Steve Hislop
Stuart Easton
Nigel Griffiths
Jimmie Guthrie
James Paris Lee
Sir John Blackwood McEwen
Bill McLaren
James Murray
Anne Redpath
Henry Scott Riddell
Scocha
Francis George Scott
Andrew Smith
David Wallace
James Wilson
See also
Hawick Rugby Football Club
Hawick Royal Albert F.C.
*List of places in the Scottish Borders
List of places in Scotland
Hawick's villages:
Burnfoot, Scottish Borders
Stirches
Wilton Dean
References
Further reading
Murray, James (1870–72, 1873) The Dialect of the Southern Counties of Scotland, London: Philological Society.
External links
Authentic Hawick Cashmere at Seventeen71company
The Official Hawick Highland Games
The Online Resource for Hawick
Hawick Website
Hawick News
Hawick Legion F.C.
Hawick Waverley F.C.
Hawick Common Riding Website
Hawick Callants Club
Visit Scotland
Southern Scots
Old Photographs Of Hawick And The Scottish Borders
Photos Of Hawick
Picture of the ba game at Hawick dated 1904
*
Letter to the Editor of 'The Times' on the Hawick Ba game (1928)
A Hawick Wordbook - Douglas Scott
Hawick News
Visit Scotland's page
Category:Towns in the Scottish Borders
Category:Articles including recorded pronunciations (UK English)
![Munro's of Jedburgh is a bus operating company based in the Scottish Borders town of Jedburgh. They operate a number of local routes both in the Scottish Borders and in Midlothian.[1]](http://web.archive.org./web/20110130161223im_/http://cdn.wn.com/pd/9d/0d/8ca54534a09dca375151cd65a7ee_grande.jpg "Munro's of Jedburgh is a bus operating company based in the Scottish Borders town of Jedburgh. They operate a number of local routes both in the Scottish Borders and in Midlothian.[1]")
![Munro's of Jedburgh is a bus operating company based in the Scottish Borders town of Jedburgh. They operate a number of local routes both in the Scottish Borders and in Midlothian.[1]](http://web.archive.org./web/20110130161223im_/http://cdn.wn.com/pd/9d/0d/8ca54534a09dca375151cd65a7ee_thumb.jpg "Munro's of Jedburgh is a bus operating company based in the Scottish Borders town of Jedburgh. They operate a number of local routes both in the Scottish Borders and in Midlothian.[1]")
