River Tweed Explained
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
- Book: Clayton . Phil . Headwaters: Walking to British River Sources . 2012 . Frances Lincoln Limited . London . 9780711233638 . 193 . First.
- 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 .
- News: Wild fishing tax 'raid' concern. BBC News . August 10, 2015.
- 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 .
- Web site: James . Alan . The Brittonic Language in the Old North - A Guide to the Place-Name Evidence . Scottish Place Name Society.
- 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
- 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.
- Web site: History of the RTC . www.rivertweed.org.uk/ . 22 February 2022.