The River Tweed

Recent life events mean that life has been best lived at home recovering, recuperating working and, for our boys, studying. Thankfully the weather has been fantastic, a bit too fantastic for gardeners and famers, the UK is currently experiencing its driest spring in over a century and one of its sunniest. As such I’ve spent a lot of time outside really appreciating where we live.

We moved to The Scottish Borders in 2019 having decided that Aberdeenshire was just a bit too far north, leaving the River Dee for the River Tweed. The River Tweed flows from the hills above Moffat to Berwick on Tweed over a course of about 97 miles (156km) and is famous for fishing, for giving its name to the material and in places as the border between Scotland and England. Work is currently in progress on a walking and cycling route following the length of the river from Moffat to Berwick-on-Tweed.

There is something for almost everyone along the length of the Tweed. We live here primarily for the great outdoors and its proximity to Edinburgh. As I may have mentioned I’ve been recovering from an operation but recovery has progressed and recently the e-bike has beckoned. I’ve enjoyed uncharacteristically (for Scotland) dusty rides on some of the off-piste trails at Glentress and a longer wilder ride into the empty valleys served by the Southern Upland Way, Scotland’s southern long distance path.

I’ve also had time during my recuperation to sit and watch the river and its wildlife go by, jumping trout and salmon, toads, herons, various wildfowl, the return of the summer migrants and the annual hatching of the mayflies have all been impressive but I’ve yet to see my seasonal favourite, the osprey, this year.

There are world famous museums, castles, stately homes, literary giants, and Abbey’s that line the river but if anyone is interested I can detail those another day. We’ve even had a visit from Indiana Jones. Tomorrow I’ll head off across the border for work but for the first bit of the trip I get to enjoy one of Scotland’s most varied catchments on another fine day.

Photo: Leaderfoot Viaduct where Indiana Jones had an accident with a train.