This tale was contributed by The Wilson’s Tales Project which celebrated the life and stories of Tweedmouth-born John Mackay Wilson and his ‘Tales of the Borders’ through a series of events for all ages supported by a Destination Tweed Community Grant. The monks of Dryburgh heard the Laird of Meldrum, was dying. Two brethren set […]

In 1964 the Inspector and Chemist of the Tweed River Purification Board issued one of his regular reports, with details about water abstractions and pollution incidents. Examples include: • There were many complaints about the dumping of soot and a letter was sent to all chimney sweeps in the Borders about proper disposal arrangements. • […]

In the 1950s an unusual and ambitious body was set up – the Tweed River Purification Board. This body viewed the Tweed as a whole, crossing local authority borders, and aimed to make the Tweed a clean and healthy river. The make-up of the Board in 1954 was a sign of the times – including […]

Do you know the difference between a gargoyle and a grotesque? While both can appear as fantastical creatures or monstrous figures, and often have a symbolic meaning, gargoyles are functional – they were designed to drain water away from the sides of buildings, whilst grotesques are purely decorative. So, while all gargoyles are grotesques, not […]

Books possess a remarkable power to whisk us away to different times and places. The Borders has long been a muse for writers, inspiring them to create enduring poetry, ballads, and literature that beautifully depict our landscape. Sir Walter Scott drew on Scottish history and landscapes to inspire his timeless classics including several books which […]

BURNFOOT, LOWER DRYBURGH, RIVER TWEED. It was a sad but glorious morning at Burnfoot on the Lower Dryburgh beat when we tipped his ashes from the urn into the river – the magnificent beech and oak trees were starting to colour with autumn hues and bowed gently with respect in the very slight breeze. It […]