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{{Short description|Range of hills in southern Scotland}}
[[Image:Lammermuir Hills1.jpg|thumb|right]]▼
{{For|the New Zealand range of hills|Lammermoor Range}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
The '''Lammermuirs''' are a range of hills in southern [[Scotland]], forming a natural boundary between [[East Lothian]] and the [[Scottish Borders|Borders]]. The name "Lammermuir" comes from the [[Old English]] ''lambra mōr'', meaning "moorland of the lambs".<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Williamson |first=May |date=1942 |title=The Non-Celtic Place-Names of the Scottish Border Counties |publisher=Edinburgh University |url=https://spns.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/MayWilliamsonComplete.pdf |access-date=27 October 2022 |page=66}}</ref>
== Geology ==
The Lammermuir Hills are formed from a succession of [[Silurian]] and [[Ordovician]] age marine sediments known as [[greywacke]]s together with [[siltstone]]s, [[shale]]s and [[mudstone]]s. They are assigned to the [[Gala Group (geology)|Gala Group]]. [[Unconformity (geology)|Unconformably]] overlying these highly [[fault (geology)|faulted]] and [[fold (geology)|folded]] strata are outcrops of the early [[Devonian]] age Great Conglomerate Formation which forms a part of the [[Reston Group]] of [[Old Red Sandstone]] rocks. These coarse red-purple [[conglomerate (geology)|conglomerates]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Great Conglomerate Formation |url=https://www.bgs.ac.uk/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?pub=GCGL |website=Lexicon of Named Rock Units |publisher=British Geological Survey |access-date=19 June 2020}}</ref> underlie a band of country in the east between [[Longformacus]] and [[Oldhamstocks]] and also occur in an isolated outcrop east of Soutra Hill and beneath the Dun Law Wind Farm on the western margin of the hills. The same strata extend down Lauderdale on the western margin of the hills.
Numerous [[dike (geology)|dykes]] of different [[lithology|lithologies]] largely of Devonian age but some of [[Carboniferous]] age and with a generally NE-SW alignment occur throughout the area. The Priestlaw Intrusion is a mass of late Silurian/early Devonian [[granite]] which occurs in the area of Whiteadder Reservoir.
Glacial meltwater channels are common along the northern and eastern margins of the hills, with a notable group beneath Newlands Hill and Dod Law to the southeast of [[Gifford, East Lothian|Gifford]] and north of Deuchrie Edge and Lothian Edge, largely directed towards the northeast in these areas.<ref>{{cite web |title=Geoindex Onshore |url=https://mapapps2.bgs.ac.uk/geoindex/home.html |publisher=British Geological Survey |access-date=19 June 2020}}</ref>
The hills are nowhere especially high, the highest points being [[Meikle Says Law]] at {{convert|535|m|ft|abbr=on}} and the [[Lammer Law]] at {{convert|528|m|ft|abbr=on}}, but steep gradients, exposure to the elements and a lack of natural passes combine to form a formidable barrier to communications between [[Edinburgh]] and the Borders. ▼
==Geography==
The hills are crossed by only one major road (the [[A68 road|A68]]), which crosses the shoulder of [[Soutra Hill]] between [[Lauder]] and [[Pathhead, Midlothian|Pathhead]], and is frequently closed by snow in winter. The main road linking Edinburgh to [[England]] (the [[A1 road (Great Britain)|A1]]) avoids the hills by following a circuitous route around the coast▼
▲Spanning the counties of [[Selkirkshire|Selkirk]], [[East Lothian]], and [[Berwickshire|Berwick]], the Lammermuirs extend from the [[Gala Water]] to [[St Abb's Head]], and offer a traditional site for [[sheep]] grazing. The hills are nowhere especially high, the highest points being [[Meikle Says Law]] at {{convert|535|m|ft|abbr=on}} and the [[Lammer Law]] at {{convert|528|m|ft|abbr=on}}
▲[[Image:Lammermuirs.jpg|right|thumb| The Lammermuirs in the winter of 2009/10]]
▲The hills are crossed by only one major road (the [[A68 road|A68]]), which crosses the shoulder of [[Soutra Hill]] between [[Lauder]] and [[Pathhead, Midlothian|Pathhead]], and is frequently closed by snow in winter. The main road linking Edinburgh to [[England]] (the [[A1 road (Great Britain)|A1]]) avoids the hills by following a circuitous route around the coast.
==Features==
[[White Castle, East Lothian|White Castle]] was an [[Iron Age]] [[hill fort]], settled by the ancestors of the [[Votadini]] tribe.
[[Crystal Rig Wind Farm]] is located on the hills.
[[Sir Walter Scott]]'s historical novel ''[[The Bride of Lammermoor]]'' is set in the area, as is [[Gaetano Donizetti]]'s [[opera]] ''[[Lucia di Lammermoor]]'' which is itself based on Scott's novel.▼
==Historical and literary significance==
Two ranges of hills in [[New Zealand]], the [[Lammermoor Range]] and [[Lammerlaw Range]] are named after the Scottish hills and their second highest point respectively.▼
The [[Kingdom of Northumbria|Northumbria]]n missionary bishop [[Cuthbert]] spent his early years as a shepherd on the Lammermuir Hills.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/churchinanglosax0000godf |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/churchinanglosax0000godf/page/125 125] |title=The Church in Anglo-Saxon England |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521050890 |last1=Godfrey |first1=John |year=2009}}</ref>
▲[[Sir Walter Scott]]'s
▲Two ranges of hills in [[New Zealand]], the [[Lammermoor Range|Lammermoors]] and [[Lammerlaw Range|Lammerlaws]], are named after the Scottish hills
==See also==
* [[List of places in East Lothian]]
* [[List of places in the Scottish Borders]]
* [[List of Marilyns in Scotland#Firth of Forth to the English Border|Marilyns in the area]]
* [[List of places in Scotland]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060206233707/http://www.scotways.com/downloads/vault/
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050112041045/http://www.lammermuirhills.com/ Anti-windfarm Group]
{{Authority control}}
▲{{coord|55|50|N|2|44|W|display=title|region:GB_type:mountain_source:GNS-enwiki}}
[[Category:Mountains and hills of East Lothian]]
[[Category:Mountains and hills of the Scottish Borders]]
[[Category:Hills of the Scottish Midland Valley]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of Scotland]]
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