…to The Tweed Chronicles, a blog by a man with thoughts in his head and maps in his hand.

I started this blog in April 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdown. I had to do something. The music of my mind was soundtracked by the bastard rhythm section of anxiety on drums and depression on bass guitar. Each of these fellas was familiar to me and I had developed techniques over the years to keep them quiet and infrequent. But a lot of these techniques were not available during lockdown and I found myself struggling with the emotional intensity of the whole experience.

So, I picked a challenge. To visit each of the bridges over the River Tweed. From the source above Moffat, past my home in Peebles (and my childhood home in Selkirk) to the mouth of the water in Berwick.

Why, you say? That’s a good question which I thank you for asking.

Well, I guess I like rivers. I’ve always found it fascinating that a tiny drop of water falls on the top of a hill one day and then, after a period of time heads out to sea. What a laugh it must have in-between!

I like that most towns in Scotland are built next to rivers and the connection that comes from this.

And I guess I like bridges, as mankind’s attempt to ignore what the landscape is telling them (thou shalt not cross). Of course, bad things too happen at bridges, but that’s not the fault of the poor bridges.

So, let’s have a crack at this. I don’t really know where this will take us, or if I will actually get to all the bridges. Maybe this is more about the journey than the destination? I guess we’ll see.

Look after yourselves and each other.

NRH – 30 April 2020