Portrait of the Tweed

A portrait in words and pictures of the river Tweed, which borders England and Scotland. The book takes a year in the life of the river, tracing its course upstream, season by season from the sea to its source in upper Tweedsdale. Photographs capture the natural life and towns along its course.

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This is a portrait in words and pictures of one of the world's best-known and historic rivers. Famous equally as the border between England and Scotland and for the quality of its salmon fishing, the Tweed and its hinterland, the borders region, for centuries formed a background for the drama, intrigue, romance and lawlessness immortalized in Walter Scott's "Border Ballads". Today, the wild and beautiful borders landscape still maintains its separate identity, a region of scattered, neat towns, great country estates with splendid houses, and a pattern of life still dominated by traditional rural values. "Portrait of the Tweed" takes a year in the life of the river, tracing its course upstream, season by season, from the sea to its source in the remote moorland of upper Tweedsdale. The specially shot photographs reveal the rich natural life of its banks and pools, together with the historic towns, houses and locations which lie alongside its course. The text draws on a wealth of legend, literature and anecdote to provide a lively contextual commentary.