Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Tweed

TWEED, a river in the south of Scotland, has its rise in the south-west corner of Peeblesshire, not far from the Devil's Beef Tub in Dumfriesshire. The stream flowing from Tweed's Well, about 1500 feet above sea-level, is generally regarded as its source, although the honour is also claimed for other streams issuing from a higher elevation. For the first 36 miles of its course it intersects the county of Peebles—frequently on this account called Tweeddale—in a north-easterly direction, passing between verdant hills separated by valleys watered by its numerous affluents. Having passed several picturesque keeps and castles, it reaches the town of Peebles, shortly before which it receives the Lyne Water from the north and the Manor Water from the south. The valley now widens; the scenery becomes softer and richer; and the river, bending in a more easterly direction, passes Innerleithen, where it receives the Leithen from the north and the Quair from the south. It then crosses Selkirkshire in a south-easterly direction, and, having received the Ettrick from the south on the borders of Roxburghshire, flows northward past Abbotsford, forming for about 2 miles the boundary between the counties of Selkirk and Roxburgh. After receiving the Gala, the Tweed crosses the north-western corner of Roxburghshire past Melrose and its abbey, and, after being joined by the Leader from the north, winds past Dryburgh abbey round the south-western corner of Berwickshire. The remainder of its course is in a north easterly direction through Roxburghshire past Kelso, where it receives the Teviot from the south, and then between the counties of Berwick and Northumberland, past Coldstream and Norham castle to the town of Berwick, where it reaches the North Sea. It receives the Eden Water from the north at Edenmouth, the Leet Water from the north at Coldstream, and the Till from Northumberland between Coldstream and Norham castle. The last 2 miles of its course before reaching Berwick are in England. Though the latter part of its course is through a comparatively level country, the scenery along the river is full of charm, owing to the picturesque variety of its finely wooded banks. The associations connected with the keeps and castles of the Tweed have supplied materials for several of Sir Walter Scott's poems and romances; and its varied beauties have been sung by Hogg, Leyden, Thomson, and many others. The bed of the river is pebbly and sandy, and, notwithstanding discolorations from manufactures, the stream, from its clear and sparkling appearance, is still well entitled to the name of the "silver Tweed." The total area drained by it is about 1870 square miles, and its total length is 97 miles. Next to the Tay it is the largest river in Scotland. The Tweed has, however, no estuary, and its traffic is chiefly confined to Berwick. But for a short distance up the river some navigation is carried on by barges. The river is one of the best in Scotland for trout and salmon fishing.

See Sir Thomas Dick Lauder's Scottish Rivers and Prof. Yeitch's River Tweed, 1884.