Though its population is under three thousand, the town of Duns is home to some of the most exciting and thrilling adventures in all of Scotland. While towns like Glasgow and Edinburgh get more attention from the media and pop culture, the true Scottish experience is found in small towns throughout the Scottish Borders and Duns is just such a town. Filled to the brim with the magic and splendor that has made Scotland such a beloved part of the United Kingdom, Duns evokes the very best of the Scottish mindset. The town is also home to some downright lovely scenery and anybody who is familiar with Scotland knows that the country is stunningly beautiful.
So how does Duns set itself apart from the equally gorgeous towns in Scotland? Well, for one, it is important to remember that many of Scotland's most lovely towns are lovely for a reason: They are small, sparsely populated villages that have very few modern-day amenities such as clubs and pubs. Such a small amount of infrastructure of course means that there is more room for beautiful natural scenery. Duns, however, balances this natural beauty with cultural necessities that make it just as enjoyable for people who love night life as for people who enjoy wildlife. Duns has more shopping districts than almost every other town in the Scottish Borders. Duns is also among the fastest growing towns in Scotland and each year more and more homes and buildings are being constructed. This is great news for those who want to enjoy city life in Duns (since that is clearly where things are headed), but such development comes at a cost. Duns was once home to an area of medieval gardens that were as beautiful as they were historic but they were recently bought by the British Red Cross and the site where an ancient garden once stood is now simply another sector of housing in the fast-growing town.
Fortunately, Duns still has plenty of exciting historical features and traditions and some of these will never die. The most popular among them is likely the ancient game of football that was played in Duns during the medieval years. It is usually referred to as the "Ba" game and it is rather unique. Essentially, three different balls are used during the game and, in the Middle Ages, they were called "bas". There was a gold ball, a silver ball, and a speckled ball. The game was played between married men and bachelors and there were many wacky rules. The entire downtown area served as the playing field and the church served as one goal while the grinding mills were another. The game was brought back in 1949 as part of the famed Duns Summer Festival and it is still played yearly to this day. It is truly refreshing to see such adherence to old traditions and thus Duns, for all its faults in terms of growth, is still a town that is very dedicated to its ancestors.
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