Circus parade
My mother-in-law remembered circuses on the village green in Norham in the 1930s, and parades of elephants – chained together – arriving from Berwick!
Misty memory
A foggy damp February morning with Vicar Rob beside the river in Norham for the annual Pedwell Prayer
An exciting sighting
Spotting egrets at the Lees beat at Coldstream
Cuthbert’s ducks at Berwick
Cuddy ducks, probably the world’s first protected species – thanks to St Cuthbert – and they sound like Frankie Howerd!
An unexpected arrival
I was born probably prematurely because there was a fire in our house in Stobo…
The River Till
Tweed said to Till, ‘What gars ye rin soe stil?’ [What makes you run so still?]
Says Till to Tweed, ‘Though ye rin wi speed and I rin slaw, whar ye droon yin man, I droon twa!’ [Though you run fast and I run slow, where you drown one man, I drown two…]
A peaceful flat river, slow moving on the surface. However, beneath the calm façade, it features hidden deep pools, seer cross currents and heavily cut banks.
River Till Fishing www.tiptoeretreat.co.uk
These stories were collected at Norham’s St Cuthbert’s Church in October 2026. With thanks to the church team for hosting Tweed Stories and to those who shared their stories. Find out much more about Norham at www.norhamlife.co.uk.
Images: Cuddy ducks (Common Eider) © Andrew Curtis (cc-by-sa/2.0) geograph.org.uk/p/4387122; the River Till near Tiptoe © Russel Wills (cc-by-sa/2.0) geograph.org.uk/p/5395212; Norham village green © Jennifer Petrie (cc-by-sa/2.0) geograph.org.uk/p/7765386.
