County Dossier
Peeblesshire
A Borders shire of valleys, wool and rivers.
Peeblesshire is an inland county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland, sometimes referred to as Tweeddale. The River Tweed rises at Tweed’s Well in the southern reaches, flowing north-east through the heart of the shire to Peebles.
At a glance
Peeblesshire at a glance
A Borders shire of valleys, wool and rivers.
- Sheriffdom recorded c.1130
- Traquair House, inhabited since 1107
- Named from Peebles town
- Area: 548 sq miles / 1,419 sq km
- Population: 19,074
- County Top: Broad Law (2,756ft / 840m)
County Geography
Peeblesshire meets Midlothian, Selkirkshire, Dumfriesshire, and Lanarkshire. Its boundaries are shaped by the upland watersheds of the Southern Uplands and by the Tweed and its hill-fed tributary valleys across the county.
The upper Tweed gives Peeblesshire a strong spine, while the enclosing hill country keeps the county compact and legible. That structure explains its towns, passes, and farming valley floor.
Map Reference
View Peeblesshire on the map
Peeblesshire is the county. The map also shows lieutenancies and council areas that use the county name.
The county.
The lieutenancy.
Council areas.
Places and routes
Peebles, Innerleithen, West Linton, Broughton, and Tweedsmuir show the county from market town and spa town to northern village, upper-valley settlement, and southern upland centre. Together they explain Peeblesshire through its central places and Tweeddale geography.
Connections
Peeblesshire’s movement follows the Tweed and the roads running beside it, then branches into the side glens and upland passes. Those routes tie the county’s settlements into one Tweeddale pattern.
Names
- Peeblesshire
- County of Peebles
- Tweeddale
- Siorrachd nam Pùballan
Siorrachd nam Pùballan is the Gaelic form of Peeblesshire. Peeblesshire is the settled county name, while County of Peebles is the formal historical style and Tweeddale is a long-standing alternative name rooted in the county’s main valley.
The shire was established by the twelfth century and took its name from Peebles, the county town on the Tweed. Upper Tweeddale and its hill-rimmed valley settlements still form a recognisable county.