‘For a Galashiels man to be a guest at Hawick was unusual, to put it mildly. There is a lot of town rivalry’ EVENTER IAN STARK IMAGINE fast, adrenalin-pumping rides across open country, cavalcades, festivals, commemorations, ancient ceremonies, thrilling spectator spectacles and traditional tipples all rolled into one and you have Scotland’s Common Ridings.
Outside the stunning Borders area, knowledge of these age-old rides, which are hosted by Border towns every week between June and August, can be scant. However, those lucky enough to chance upon a ride retain lasting memories of the fervour, the friendliness, the excitement, the clamour and the pageantry and invariably return year after year.
“The Common Ridings are very important to Borderers, and those who move away will always come back,” says Fiona Shepherd,…