For centuries its gently rolling hills and valleys were the scene of vicious battles where English kings sought to stake their claim to Scottish soil and where cattle rustling, murder, arson and pillaging were a way of life. 

Roman legions tramped on a bloody commute between Hadrian’s Wall in the south and the Antonine Wall in the north. Later, peaceful monks built lavish 12th century abbeys, perhaps a little at odds with their simplistic life. 

But while the Scottish Borders holds its own when it comes to history and landscape, for years it has been largely overlooked by tourists on their way to Edinburgh and the Highlands. 

Now, in a bid to capture a slice of Scotland’s tourism boom, 11 of the region’s historic homes and castles have drawn inspiration from the popularity of Munro bagging to create their own ‘bag a big house’ challenge. 

Unlike the physical effort of scaling a 3000 feet mountain - particularly tricky as there are none in the Borders - all ‘baggers’ have to do is follow a map, take in some sumptuous stately home surroundings, maybe even enjoy a cream tea as they go, and tick off their achievement on a new illustrated map. 

As they progress, visitors receive a stamp to prove they’ve ‘bagged a big house’. 

It’s hoped the idea by local group Big Houses in the Scottish Borders, combined with other initiatives, can help reverse a tourism slump that has seen domestic visitor numbers to the area crash by a third since 2011 and international figures halve over the same period. 

According to Lady Catherine Maxwell-Stuart, a direct descendant of the Stuart kings and whose family has occupied one of the properties included in the initiative - Traquair House, near Peebles - for over 500 years, the region is perceived by many international tourists as too close to its English neighbour to be regarded as “real Scotland”.

She said: “It’s not that we have been complacent but, because we are called the Scottish Borders, overseas visitors don’t think they will be in the ‘real’ Scotland.

“They think this is a halfway house, and they’re in a rush to get to the Highlands and what they think is real Scotland. 

“We want to remind them they are entering Scotland when they come here – this is the beginning of Scotland.”

The flood of tourists to Scotland’s ‘honeypot’ destinations such as Edinburgh, west coast islands like Skye and the increasingly popular NC500 route is causing increasing concern that other areas are missing out. 

Last month Peter Irvine, author of Scotland the Best and creator of Edinburgh's organised Hogmanay celebrations, warned the capital has an "over-tourism" problem on a par with Barcelona and Venice. 

He called for national tourism body VisitScotland to focus more on promoting other areas, such as the Scottish Borders and Dumfries and Galloway. 

Both regions are currently part of a two-year VisitScotland campaign - See South Scotland – which has received £500,000 of additional Scottish Government funding to help drive up visitor numbers.

However, the challenge is significant: VisitScotland figures issued last month for the area showed the 21,000 international visitors to the Scottish Borders in 2017 represented just 1% of the national total, while the 275,000 domestic visitors made up only 2%. 

Lady Maxwell Stuart said that, while the area has suffered, the recently opened Borders Railway was helping to alter perceptions.

“There was a tendency for people in the central belt to see the Borders as a million miles away. There’s now a view that the Borders are a bit easier to get to," she added.

“In the past, VisitScotland has tended to ignore the south a little bit. We’re hoping the new campaign is helping to spread the message.”

The Bag the Big Houses scheme includes an illustrated map to guide visitors to grand homes and castles.

Gillian Steele, chair of Big Houses in the Scottish Borders, the group behind the ‘bag a house’ idea, said: “We have a stunning collection of properties for visitors to experience and we want to encourage people to visit as many as they can, and spend more time here in the beautiful Scottish Borders.”

VisitScotland analysis of Borders tourism issued last month revealed the area achieved just 62% occupancy level in 2017, while bed and breakfast accommodation struggled with just 19%. Spending in the region by international tourists plummeted from £77m in 2011 to just £6m in 2017.

Paula Ward, VisitScotland Regional Leadership Director, welcomed the new initiative. She said: “This is an exciting project bringing together all of these beautiful buildings in the Scottish Borders. 

“The launch of this new initiative is a great example of attractions working together to attract more visitors to delve into the past and discover some of the hidden gems and fascinating stories that the Scottish Borders is famous for.”