Historic county of Scotland
Selkirkshire
Siorrachd Shailcirc
Ettrick and Yarrow through the hills, Tweed gathering their waters below.
Selkirkshire is a compact Southern Upland county whose geography is built around two celebrated rivers: the Ettrick and the Yarrow. Both descend eastwards from high hill country through long pastoral valleys before joining near Selkirk and ultimately feeding the Tweed.
The uplands occupy most of the county, leaving settlement concentrated along valley floors. St Mary’s Loch sits high in the Yarrow country, while the eastern side becomes gradually lower and more settled. This is a county where river names, landscape, literature and identity are unusually closely intertwined.
- Ballads and border reivers
- Sheriffdom by 12th century
- Named from Selkirk town
- Area: 267 sq miles / 692 sq km
- Population: 16,010
- County Top: Dun Rig (2,441ft / 840m)
County geography
Current Census
Contemporary Census profile
Scotland Census 2022. Detailed contemporary statistics are available in the Geographic County Census Explorer.
- Population density
- 63.1 people per sq mi (24.38 people per km²)
Ettrickdale
The Ettrick runs through almost the entire county and provides its strongest geographical spine. Sheep pasture climbs the surrounding hills while roads and settlements remain close to the valley floor.
Selkirk itself stands within this river landscape, giving the county town an obvious relationship with the territory around it.
Yarrow and St Mary’s Loch
The Yarrow begins in the high western country and flows from St Mary’s Loch towards the Ettrick.
Its valley has an exceptional place in Scottish song and literature. That cultural reputation did not arise independently of the land: the enclosed glen, hill pasture and river landscape are precisely what writers and ballad traditions repeatedly celebrated.
Ettrick Forest
Selkirkshire was historically strongly associated with Ettrick Forest, once an extensive royal hunting landscape.
Much of the woodland subsequently gave way to sheep pasture, but the forest name survives as a powerful reminder that today’s open uplands have their own long history of landscape change.
County questions
Questions about Selkirkshire
Why is Selkirkshire associated with Ettrick Forest?
Because the historic royal forest covered a substantial part of this country and became closely associated with the sheriffdom. The name reflects an important historical landscape within Selkirkshire rather than a separate geographic county.
County record
Names and continuity
- Formal name
- County of Selkirk
- Local name
- Siorrachd Shailcirc
- Foundation
- c. 1110
Selkirkshire, County of Selkirk and Siorrachd Shailcirc are forms associated with the county. The Ettrick and Yarrow valleys remain its clearest geographical expression.