On this day in 1547, the Scots were defeated by the English at the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh, or Falside, near Edinburgh.

The battle was sparked by the "Rough Wooing"; the English demands that the ten-year-old Edward VI should marry Mary Queen of Scots, aged five. The military campaign by Henry VIII on the Borders followed the reneged agreement by the Scots Parliament that the two crowns would be united by marriage. The battle was fought at Pinkie Cleugh (cleugh meaning narrow glen in Gaelic) outside Musselburgh. The Scottish forces had the strength of numbers, about 36,000 in contrast to the English 16,000, but were lacking in discipline. The English troups, led by the ambitious and experienced Duke of Somerset, slaughtered the Scottish forces, which were weak in cavalry and led by the uncertain Earl of Arran. It was estimated that 15,000 Scots were killed, and 1500 were captured, whereas English fatalities amounted to only 500. However the battle proved counter-productive for the English, whose distinctly "rough wooing" of the infant Mary precipitated her marriage to the French Dauphin, dashing English hopes. The Battle at Pinkie Cleugh can be regarded as the first "modern" battle on British soil; featuring combined arms, co-operation between infantry, artillery and cavalry and, most remarkably, a naval bombardment in support of land forces.

Today in 1771 saw the birth of Mungo Park at Foulshiels, near Selkirk. On qualifying as a doctor from Edinburgh University, Park moved to London where he was appointed assistant surgeon on a expedition to Sumatra, under the direction of the botanist Sir Joseph Banks. Following this successful trip Park set off on a expedition to the unexplored territory of the Gambia.

This arduous exploration was undertaken for pure scientific discovery, and, unlike many of his contemporaries, with a disregard for the establishing of trade routes. Park managed to explore the upper reaches of the Niger and map its progress, despite being taken prisoner by tribes. The unpretentious Park returned to London via the only means of transport, a slave ship, arriving back two years after his departure, having long been given up for dead. Africa called again for Park in 1804, when he was invited to head a government expedition to complete his exploration of the Niger. In contrast to the light party of Park's first expedition, this time around, his entourage consisted of 40 Europeans, and the trip was blighted by the rainy season. The team was decimated by fever and dysentery, and only 11 of the original party reached the Niger. The disastrous expedition peaked in the rapids of Bussa in Nigeria, as Park and his remaining companions met a watery end on the river. During his first exploration in Africa Park kept a journal, which was later published as Travels into the Interior of Africa. Today, Mungo Park's statue stands in Selkirk High Street.

Today's recipe: make a sandwich of melt-in-the-mouth pulled pork for an authentic US deli snack.