Ian Brunton shared memories of Peebles in the 1930s, which were recorded in the early 2000s. They are reproduced here by kind permission of The Tweeddale Society from their 2005 publication ‘Peebles Remembered’. Whitie’s Books and Crafts in Peebles have copies.
Every August, the boys would wait anxiously for the time when the mill dams would be shut down and drained for annual cleaning. There were two dams – one ran from the junction of the Tweed and the other from where Somerfield’s is now to Biggiesknowe.
These dams always contained a good stock of trout and eels, and when they were drained a free-for-all took place. All the boys, with landing nets made of mutton cloth, fencing wire and a simple wooden handle, had a great and exciting hunt.
Ian Brunton was born in Peebles in 1931. After service in the RAF and working in England, he returned to work in the town in 1970 and later retired here.
Image: Looking at Biggiesknowe across the Cuddy Burn today © Richard Webb (cc-by-sa/2.0) geograph.org.uk/p/8205887
