The River Tweed, or Tweed Water, is a river long that flows east across the Border region in Scotland and northern England. Tweed cloth derives its name from its association with the River Tweed. The Tweed is one of the great

salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

rivers of Britain and the only river in England where an

Environment Agency The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and enha ...

rod licence is not required for

angling Angling (from Old English ''angol'', meaning "hook") is a fishing technique that uses a fish hook attached to a fishing line to tether individual fish in the mouth. The fishing line is usually manipulated with a fishing rod, although rodless te ...

. The river generates a large income for the local borders region, attracting anglers from all around the world.

Etymology

''Tweed'' may represent an Old Brittonic name meaning "border". A doubtful proposal is that the name is derived from a non-Celtic form of the

Indo-European The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...

root ''*teuha-'' meaning "swell, grow powerful".

Course

The River Tweed flows primarily through the scenic Borders region of Scotland. Eastwards from the settlements on opposing banks of Birgham and Carham it forms the historic boundary between Scotland and England. It rises in the Lowther Hills at Tweed's Well near the rising points of the Clyde -- draining northwest ( from the Tweed's Well) -- and the Annan, draining south ( from the Tweed's Well). "Annan, Tweed and Clyde rise oot the ae hillside" is a saying from the Border region. East of Kelso, it becomes a section of the eastern part of the border. Entering England, its lower reaches are in

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

, where it enters the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

Catchment

The river east of St Boswells runs through a drumlin field. It is the relic of a paleo- ice stream that flowed through the area during the last glaciation. Major towns through which the Tweed flows include Innerleithen,

Peebles Peebles () is a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was historically a royal burgh and the county town of Peeblesshire. According to the United Kingdom census, 2011, 2011 census, the population was 8,376 and the estimated population in ...

, Galashiels, Melrose, Kelso,

Coldstream Coldstream () is a town and civil parishes in Scotland, civil parish in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. A former burgh, Coldstream was where the Coldstream Guards, a regiment in the British Army, originated. Description Coldstream li ...

and

, where it flows into the

. Tweed

tributaries A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream ('' main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which the ...

include: * Whiteadder Water **

Blackadder Water Blackadder Water () is a river in Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, forming part of the River Tweed system. It reached 2.84m at Mouthbridge, which was its highest level ever recorded on Tuesday 22 October 2002 at 2:45pm. Ety ...

* River Till * Eden Water * Teviot Water * Leader Water * Ettrick Water ** Yarrow Water ** Tima Water * Gala Water * Leithen Water * Quair Water * Eddleston Water * Manor Water * Lyne Water * Holms Water The upper parts of the catchment of the Tweed in Scotland form the area known as Tweeddale, part of which is protected as the Upper Tweeddale National Scenic Area, one of 40 such areas in Scotland which are defined so as to identify areas of exceptional scenery and to ensure its protection from inappropriate development.

Management

Despite that the catchment straddles the border between Scotland and England, management of it – in terms of water quality, bio-security, and ultimately protection of the salmon of the River Tweed – is overseen by a single body, the River Tweed Commission.

River Tweed Trail

, work is in progress on the development of a walking and cycling route following the length of the river from Moffat to Berwick-on-Tweed. The work includes new sections of path, upgrades to existing paths, bridge replacement and repairs, pedestrian road crossings, lighting and signage. The path is expected to be completed during 2028.

Gallery

Wfm tweed abottsford.jpg, The River Tweed at Abbotsford, near Melrose River Tweed from Mertoun House.jpg, The River Tweed from Mertoun House, near St Boswells Anglo-Scottish.border.history.jpg, The Anglo-Scottish border, with the Tweed on the east. Its estuary and the town of

were a late annexation by England. Union Chain Bridge between England and Scotland, 2019.jpg, The Union Chain Bridge spanning the Tweed between Horncliffe, England and Fishwick, Scotland

Notes

External links

British Waterways: River TweedThe River Tweed Commission website

The Tweed FoundationTweed Forum websiteRiver Tweed: Special Area of Conservation (SAC)SEPA (Scottish Environment Protection Agency): River Level Data

Paper describing palaeo-icestream and landforms in the Tweed Valley
* Map and aerial photo sources for and
Open Canoe Hire Specialists
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tweed, River Rivers of Northumberland Tweed Anglo-Scottish border Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Annandale and Eskdale Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Berwickshire and Roxburgh Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Mid and East Lothian Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Tweeddale and Ettrick and Lauderdale