A1 Highway, Scotland and England, United Kingdom
Political borders are funny things. People are always ready to fight and die over a border, but they are ultimately human constructs and are always changing. Borders that are based on geography change based on natural changes in bodies of water. Borders based on surveying equipment can change depending on human error. Borders even become larger than life and can take on a mythic quality, defining an entire region. Here, on what historically was a border fought over many times, I would not have known that I was either in England or Scotland, if not for the giant flags. These two rivals fought each other for hundreds of years, with a border slightly creeping up or down Great Britain, depending on the outcome of the latest war.
Today, the border is pretty set, and has been since England, Wales, and Scotland formed the United Kingdom of Great Britain. Crossing this border has the same kind of pomp and circumstance as crossing a state line in the United States. The language is effectively the same, although in Scotland you will find road signs in Gaelic or Scots as well as English.
To us today, this border crossing is anticlimactic, as no border reivers are raiding the locals or travelers. The area was actually rather rural, undeveloped, and unpopulated, with the sheep looking the same on both sides of the border, not really caring if they were grazing on Scottish or English grass. Most people were driving straight through as there were no welcome centers or restrooms, just a place to pull over off of the A1 for a quick break.
This border could become much more dicey if Scotland ever achieved its full independence. This area would then require gates, border guards, passport control agents, and a simple trip from Edinburgh to Berwick-upon-Tweed could become an ordeal. Travelers on the A1 would have to line up and declare goods, and people most affected would be the descendants of the border reivers from long ago.
As for me, I’m glad that we stopped, as while Scotland and England have many differences, they are arguably a stronger country together. If Scottish Independence is fully achieved, they would need to issue new passports, a new pound, and many items of political fallout that are not yet known. I am certain about one thing, and that is this border crossing would become much more formal.