Reston is a small village of about 200 houses situated
in the Eastern Borders area of Scotland; ten miles north of
Berwick-upon-Tweed and 47 miles south of Edinburgh it is only a few hundred
yards from the main A1 Newcastle to Edinburgh trunk road. Duns the former
county town of Berwickshire is some 11 miles west. The local Community
Council is known as Reston and Auchencrow Community Council and was formed
in 1997 when Local Government in Scotland was re-organised. Auchencrow is a
small village of about twenty-five houses three miles to the west.
The Eye Water runs alongside
the village to the north and the main east coast railway line from King’s
Cross to Edinburgh borders it to the south. In the centre of agricultural
farmland Reston was once a busy railway junction with a bustling auction
mart nearby; Reston is now a quiet borderland village. There is a mixture of
new and very old buildings; some dating from the 16/17th
centuries. The local church was built in 1879 and is now linked with four
other parishes. A country store and combined Post Office is sited on the
Main Street opposite the Wheatsheaf Hotel whilst further westwards along the
main street is the Red Lion pub. At the extreme west end is the Primary
School consisting of some 50/60 pupils. Two garages, a joinery and builder’s
business and an agricultural merchant complete the other commercial
properties within the village.
Two separate communities
existed here from the very early days; East and West Reston, or Reston Major
and Reston Parva. The coming of the railway in 1846 meant that West Reston
developed into the village that it is today. In 1850 four trains from
Berwick to Edinburgh and the same number in the reverse direction stopped at
Reston. In 1849 a double tracked branch line was opened from Reston to Duns
but due to insufficient demand it became a single track in 1857.Morning and
evening trains were run for the benefit of children attending Berwickshire
High School. Later the branch was extended to St. Boswells on the Waverley
Route and was used for transporting livestock to and from Reston Auction
Mart. No station was provided at Auchencrow but there was a siding where
wagons were available for the use of local farmers.
The Borders area suffered in
the disastrous floods of 1948 when many of the rail services were suspended.
Some sections of the branch line were abandoned leaving only the length
between Duns and Reston, which closed in 1966.Reston Station was closed soon
afterwards. Now Rail Action Group, East of Scotland (RAGES) with a
membership of about 190 from around the Borders is campaigning to
re-establish a new rail link at Reston. The Community Council and several
other communities within the area are supporting this campaign.