River Tweed

For other rivers with this name, see Tweed River (disambiguation).
River Tweed
River
The River Tweed at Coldstream
Country United Kingdom
Part Scotland, England
Source Tweed's Well
 - location Tweedsmuir, Scottish Borders, Scotland
 - coordinates GB 55°26′42″N 3°29′46″W / 55.445°N 3.496°W / 55.445; -3.496
Mouth North Sea
 - location Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland, England
 - coordinates GB 55°45′55″N 1°59′27″W / 55.7652°N 1.9909°W / 55.7652; -1.9909Coordinates: GB 55°45′55″N 1°59′27″W / 55.7652°N 1.9909°W / 55.7652; -1.9909
Length 156 km (97 mi)

The River Tweed, or Tweed Water, (Scottish Gaelic: Abhainn Thuaidh, Scots: Watter o Tweid) is a river 97 miles (156 km) long that flows east across the Border region in Scotland and northern England. Tweed (cloth) derives its name from its association with the River Tweed.[1] The Tweed is one of the great salmon rivers of Britain and the only river in England where an Environment Agency rod licence is not required for angling. The name of the river comes from the Gaelic word for north, "tuath" which was later Anglicized into Tweed.

Course

The catchment area of the Tweed

It flows primarily through the scenic Borders region of Scotland, and eastwards from the settlements on opposing banks of Birgham and Carham forms the historic boundary between Scotland and England. It rises in the Lowther Hills at Tweed's Well near where the Clyde, draining northwest, and the Annan draining south also rise. "Annan, Tweed and Clyde rise oot the ae hillside" is a saying from the Border region. East of Kelso, it becomes a section of the eastern part of the border. Entering England, its lower reaches are in Northumberland, where it enters the North Sea at Berwick-upon-Tweed.

Catchment

The river's valley floor is a drumlin field and the relic of a paleo-ice stream that flowed through the area during the last glaciation. Major towns through which the Tweed flows include Forfar, Ayr Innerleithen, Peebles, Galashiels, Melrose, Kelso, Coldstream and Berwick-upon-Tweed, where it flows into the North Sea. Tweed tributaries include:

See also

Notes

Wikisource has the text of a 1921 Collier's Encyclopedia article about River Tweed.
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