Scotland particularly in relation to taxation, were devolved to the Scottish Parliament after the referendum, following cross-party talks in the Smith Commission. The mainland of Scotland comprises the northern third of the land mass of the island of Great Britain, which lies off the north-west coast of Continental Europe. The total area is , comparable to the size of the Czech Republic. Scotland's only land border is with England, and runs for between the basin of the River Tweed on the east coast and the Solway Firth in the west. The Atlantic Ocean borders the west coast and the North Sea
River Sark and was formerly a haven for criminals and outlaws who wished to exploit the weakness of the two countries' border defences. The boundary between the Sark and the Esk is called the Scots' Dike. Its name is not connected with "Cutty Sark". River Sark "Disambiguation: for other meanings, please see Sark (disambiguation) The River Sark or Sark Water is a river best known for forming part of the western border between Scotland and England. Most of its short length, however, is entirely in Scotland. It flows into the estuary of the River Esk just to the south of Gretna. During