Up and down the River Tweed

Up and down the River Tweed

8th July 2017

A warm summers day sees us walk a stretch of the River Tweed where it bisects the B6404 between St Boswells and Kelso in the Scottish Borders. At this point the river loops back and forth on itself, carving a path that creates waterside cliffs of red sandstone on one side, on the other, flat flood plains that quickly give way to fertile farmland. We park close to the riverside before crossing Mertoun Bridge to drop to the water’s edge down some timber steps. Our route keeps us close to the water throughout, running three miles east before re-crossing the river on the foot bridge adjacent to Mertoun house before returning on the far bank.  The outward stretch sees the track rise and fall through the dips and hollows of the high ground that lines this side of the river. Wooden steps and walkways allow for easy navigation, the high sections through woodland opening at times to expose slices of the river, glistening and bright in the morning’s sunshine. Returning to the river side we wind our way through great stands of summer vegetation. Now at its best, in places it reaches heights of five or six feet. In particular, great stands of cow parsley and giant hogweed require pushing aside to allow progress to be made. Elsewhere a great bank of gunnera manicata (dinosaur food?), pre-historic and scary looking, lines a steep incline. The colours of summer abound with clumps of rosebay willow herb, purple poker heads rising high. Close by Himalayan balsam, tall and spindly, sways in the light breeze.  While  low lying banks of blue meadow cranesbill are everywhere to be seen. Strangest of all a silvery thistle standing ten feet tall, with an antler like spread, producing the classic thistle crown from each protuberance. Commercial crops occupy higher ground above sections of the river. The path winds around a field of rape seed, devoid of its yellow blaze, replaced with a concentration of thin green pods, awaiting harvest time. Further on a field of wheat shifts from green to golden yellow as the season progresses. Mertoun house itself sits high above the river, its gardens providing long views across stretches of the Border countryside. Owned by the Duke of Sutherland the impressive red sandstone building is beautifully proportioned across four floors, everything neat and symmetrical, all set within its well-tended walled garden. We explore some of the grounds before starting the return section of the walk along the flatter and less interesting south bank. Everywhere the eye is drawn to the colour and form of the landscape. Lush and fertile farmland to our right, to our left, stands of wild flowers occupy the riparian zone between land and water’s edge. The path then drops gently to our left and for about 100 metres or so we step from stone to stone along the river’s verge before again returning to higher ground for the final kilometre back to the car. A timeless and unchanging landscape, what is here now has endured for centuries and so it will be, until some distant age  brings its own upheavals.

Mertoun House