River Tweed Explained

River Tweed
Map:River Tweed Watershed.jpg
Map Size:300
Subdivision Type1:Country
Subdivision Name1:United Kingdom
Subdivision Type2:Part
Subdivision Name2:Scotland, England
Subdivision Type3:County
Length:156km (97miles)
Source1:Tweed's Well
Source1 Location:Tweedsmuir, Scottish Borders, Scotland
Source1 Coordinates:55.445°N -3.496°W
Mouth:North Sea
Mouth Location:Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland, England
Mouth Coordinates:55.7652°N -1.9909°W

The River Tweed, or Tweed Water, Scots: Watter o Tweid, Welsh: Tuedd), is a river 97miles[1] 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.[2] The Tweed is one of the great salmon rivers of Britain and the only river in England where an Environment Agency rod licence is not required for angling. The river generates a large income for the local borders region, attracting anglers from all around the world.[3]

Etymology

Tweed may represent an Old Brittonic name meaning "border".[4] A doubtful proposal is that the name is derived from a non-Celtic form of the Indo-European root *teuha- meaning "swell, grow powerful".[5]

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 to where the Clyde, draining northwest (from the Tweed's Well), and the Annan draining south (from the Tweed's Well) also rise. "Annan, Tweed and Clyde rise oot the ae hillside" is a saying from the Border region.[6] East of Kelso, it becomes a section of the eastern part of the border. Entering England, its lower reaches are in Northumberland, where it enters the North Sea at Berwick-upon-Tweed.

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, Galashiels, Melrose, Kelso, Coldstream and Berwick-upon-Tweed, where it flows into the North Sea. Tweed tributaries include:

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.[7]

Management

Short Title:Tweed Fisheries Act 1771
Type:Act
Parliament:Parliament of Great Britain
Long Title:An Act for regulating and improving the Fisheries in the River Tweed, and the Rivers and Streams running into the same; and also within the Mouth or Entrance of the said River.
Year:1771
Citation:11 Geo. 3. c. 27
Royal Assent:12 April 1771
Repealing Legislation:River Tweed Fisheries Act 1830
Status:repealed
Collapsed:yes
Short Title:Tweed Fisheries Act 1775
Type:Act
Parliament:Parliament of Great Britain
Long Title:An Act for amending and rendering more effectual an Act, passed in the Eleventh Year of His present Majesty's Reign, intituled, "An Act for regulating and improving the Fisheries in the River Tweed, and the Rivers and Streams running into the same, and also within the Mouth or Entrance of the said River."
Year:1775
Citation:15 Geo. 3. c. 46
Royal Assent:22 May 1775
Status:repealed
Collapsed:yes
Short Title:Tweed Fisheries Act 1797
Type:Act
Parliament:Parliament of Great Britain
Long Title:An act for altering, amending, and rendering more effectual two acts, made in the eleventh and fifteenth years of the reign of his present Majesty, for the regulation and improvement of the fisheries in the river Tweed, and the rivers and streams running into the same, and also within the mouth or entrance of the said river.
Year:1797
Citation:37 Geo. 3. c. 48
Royal Assent:3 May 1797
Repealing Legislation:River Tweed Fisheries Act 1830
Status:repealed
Collapsed:yes
Short Title:River Tweed Fisheries Act 1807
Type:Act
Parliament:Parliament of the United Kingdom
Year:1807
Citation:47 Geo. 3 Sess. 1. c. xxix
Royal Assent:25 April 1807
Repealing Legislation:River Tweed Fisheries Act 1830
Status:repealed
Original Text:https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Geo3Sess1/47/29/pdfs/ukla_18070029_en.pdf
Collapsed:yes
Short Title:River Tweed Fisheries Act 1830
Type:Act
Parliament:Parliament of the United Kingdom
Year:1830
Citation:11 Geo. 4 & 1 Will. 4. c. liv
Royal Assent:29 May 1830
Repealing Legislation:Tweed Fisheries Act 1857
Status:repealed
Original Text:https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Geo4and1Will4/11/54/pdfs/ukla_18300054_en.pdf
Collapsed:yes
Short Title:River Tweed Fisheries Act 1836
Type:Act
Parliament:Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long Title:An Act to alter, amend, and enlarge the Powers of an Act paged in the Eleventh Year of the Reign of His late Majesty, intituled "An Act for the more effectual Preservation and Increase of the Breed of Salmon, and for better regulating the Fisheries in the River Tweed, and the Rivers and Streams running into the same, and abo within the Mouth or Entrance of the said River."
Year:1836
Citation:6 & 7 Will. 4. c. lxv
Royal Assent:21 June 1836
Amends:River Tweed Fisheries Act 1830
Repealing Legislation:Tweed Fisheries Act 1857
Status:repealed
Original Text:https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Will4/6-7/65/pdfs/ukla_18360065_en.pdf
Short Title:Tweed Fisheries Act 1857
Type:Act
Parliament:Parliament of the United Kingdom
Year:1857
Citation:20 & 21 Vict. c. cxlviii
Status:repealed
Collapsed:yes
Short Title:Tweed Fisheries Amendment Act 1859
Type:Act
Parliament:Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long Title:An Act to amend "The Tweed Fisheries Act 1857,"[b] and to alter the Annual Close Times in the River Tweed.
Year:1859
Citation:22 & 23 Vict. c. lxx
Royal Assent:1 August 1859
Status:repealed
Collapsed:yes
Short Title:Tweed Fisheries Act 1969
Type:Act
Parliament:Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long Title:An Act to amend the Tweed Fisheries Act 1857] and the Tweed Fisheries Amendment Act 1859; to apply certain provisions of those Acts to freshwater fish; and for other purposes.
Year:1969
Citation:1969 c. xxiv
Royal Assent:25 June 1969
Status:repealed
Collapsed:yes
Short Title:Scotland Act 1998 (River Tweed) Order 2006
Type:Statutory Instrument
Parliament:Parliament of the United Kingdom
Year:2006
Citation:SI 2006/2913
Si Made Date:14 November 2006
Commencement:15 November 2006
Primary Legislation:Scotland Act 1998
Status:current
Original Text:https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2006/2913/contents/made
Collapsed:yes

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.[8]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Clayton . Phil . Headwaters: Walking to British River Sources . 2012 . Frances Lincoln Limited . London . 9780711233638 . 193 . First.
  2. Web site: Article on Tweed Cloth . 2014-12-16 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141216141246/https://www.ahume.co.uk/page.asp?source=mens&id=What-Is-Tweed . 2014-12-16 . dead .
  3. News: Wild fishing tax 'raid' concern. BBC News . August 10, 2015.
  4. Web site: University of Wales Dictionary . University of Wales Dictionary . University of Wales . 4 June 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190531155923/http://www.geiriadur.ac.uk/gpc/gpc.html . 31 May 2019 . live .
  5. Web site: James . Alan . The Brittonic Language in the Old North - A Guide to the Place-Name Evidence . Scottish Place Name Society.
  6. https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/uk/the-tweed-take-a-trip-on-a-river-flowing-with-history-5332911.html The Tweed: Take a trip on a river flowing with history
  7. Web site: National Scenic Areas . Scottish Natural Heritage . 2018-01-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180118010614/https://www.nature.scot/professional-advice/safeguarding-protected-areas-and-species/protected-areas/national-designations/national-scenic-areas . 2018-01-18 . live.
  8. Web site: History of the RTC . www.rivertweed.org.uk/ . 22 February 2022.