There is no Lethan Valley in the Scottish Borders, but there is a Manor Valley, on which I based the location. The topography is much as I described, and at one time there were ten peel towers dotted along the valley floor. The remains of three survive, two ruined and one nearly intact.
There was a feud between the Tweedies and the Veitches, who held neighbouring lands near the Tweed. As with all Border feuds, there was bloodshed and murder involved and nobody was quite sure how it started. My own account is entirely fictional. The story of the Spirit of the Tweed is part of local folklore, although I added a slight twist.
The Armstrongs of Liddesdale were indeed one of the most feared riding—or reiving—families of the Border. They were not a surname to cross: names such as Ill Will Arms
