King's baton relay makes surprise visit to the Scottish Borders
It's part of the build-up to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow...
Last updated 20th Jul 2026
The countdown to this summer’s Commonwealth Games is continuing - with the King’s baton relay making a surprise visit to the Scottish Borders.
Former Scotland Sevens star Scott Wight - who competed at the last event in Glasgow in 2014 - and Duns weightlifter Maddie Rosher were the special guests at this morning's event.
They met youngsters at the pump track in Walkerburn, with the hope of inspiring more people to get involved in sport.
Wight told Greatest Hits Radio: "I think it's a great way for kids to meet new friends, it allows them to go to some pretty cool places in terms of where the Commonwealth Games have been; and it's great to have a home Commonwealth Games again.
"In terms of what it does for individual athletes, who do a lot of training on their own, it gives you a greater feel to it because you become Team Scotland. This year it will be ten different sports making one big team, and I think the energy that brings, especially with the home crowd, is excellent."
It was a special moment for former Berwickshire High School pupil Maddie Rosher, who is due to compete in the weightlighting event on July 28th. The 19-year-old, from Duns, is currently ranked fifth in her 69kg category.
She told us: "I'm very proud, it means a lot; especially since its a home Games and everyone I know is going to be there. And to put on the Scottish singlet, which is a bit of a rare opportunity in weightlifting, is pretty cool."
The King's Baton Relay is also due to visit the British National Mountain Biking Championships at Ae Forest in Dumfries & Galloway before heading to Aberdeen tomorrow.
Rather than one baton traveling through all 74 participating nations, like previous years, each competing team was given its own unique baton to decorate this time around.
And they'll be united for the first time at the opening ceremony at the Ovo Hydro on Thursday (July 23rd).
Inside the Scottish baton, King Charles placed a sealed message, which will be read out to officially declare the games open.
WATCH: Click on the link below to view our video report...
The tour is being organised by a man from Melrose, Stuart Turner, a senior consultant with Purple Moon, who is working for Commonwealth Games Scotland.
"I think it's fantastic to be able to come along to a community event like this - it's a brilliant facility, the pump track's superb," he said.
"Really it's about representing all of the sports development that's going on in the Borders. This is just one event on one day, but there's a breadth of sport right across the whole of the Borders region that the sports development team are putting in place, so it's great."
When asked what he hopes the Games bring to Scotland, Mr Turner added: "I think the whole thing about being able to host an event like the Commonwealth Games is about inspiring the next generation.
"It's brilliant that Scottish athletes can compete on home soil, but some of it is about the people who are sitting there watching that thinking: 'I can do that.' And either being inspired to compete at the highest level of even just to get on the trainers and start running or cycling, or whatever it might be. So hopefully the Commonwealth Games will inspire people to get involved at whatever level."
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