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Acreknowe training trenches is a First World War military earthwork located in Roxburghshire, Scotland, near the village of Stobs. The site comprises three separate trench systems positioned at varying distances westward and northwestward of Acreknowe, part of the wider Stobs Camp complex that served as a major training facility during the war. The trenches were dug into wacke bedrock of the Hawick Group, a hard sedimentary formation typical of the Scottish Borders geology, which would have presented substantial excavation challenges for soldiers training in entrenchment work.
The training trenches at Acreknowe represent the practical instruction infrastructure developed to prepare troops for the conditions encountered on the Western Front. Such parallel trench systems allowed instructors to demonstrate defensive techniques and enable soldiers to practise digging, fortifying and occupying trench lines under controlled conditions before active service. The multiple separate locations suggest systematic planning of the training area.
The monument is protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM13768, recognising its significance as a tangible record of wartime military preparation and the home front contribution to the First World War effort in Scotland.
Acreknowe training trenches, Stobs Camp, 460m WNW, 560m WNW and 570m NNW of Acreknowe, Stobs is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM13768. View the official record →
Acreknowe training trenches is a First World War military earthwork located in Roxburghshire, Scotland, near the village of Stobs. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM13768.
Acreknowe training trenches, Stobs Camp, 460m WNW, 560m WNW and 570m NNW of Acreknowe, Stobs is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic Environment Scotland — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Scotland. The official designation reference is SM13768.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Pyat Knowe,enclosure 150m N of (5.7 km), The Catrail,linear earthwork,SE slope of Singley Brae to Barry Sike (5.9 km), Dod,enclosure on Gray Coat,530m SW of (6.1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Acreknowe training trenches, Stobs Camp, 460m WNW, 560m WNW and 570m NNW of Acreknowe, Stobs's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Acreknowe training trenches, Stobs Camp, 460m WNW, 560m WNW and 570m NNW of Acreknowe, Stobs stands on Hawick Group, bedrock that formed in the Wenlock. The rock here is wacke.