St Abbs Head looking North – tiny looking canoes on the beach below

We have been fortunate in previous years to have been able to spend some holiday time on the eastern side of the Scottish Borders, hopping backwards & forwards from Scotland into England and the county of Northumberland to the south.

The summer weather in the UK this year has been very changeable, and certainly cooler than 2023 was. Our time in mid August on the Borders seemed to bring brilliant sunshine one day, and then cloud, wind & occasional showers the next. But this did not deter us from exploring this beautiful part of the UK, its stunning coastal views, tiny fishing communities, amazing castles & abbeys and local delicacies.

Below are examples of some of the excellent fare that we purchased from the Northumberland fishing port of Craster and its “smokehouse – the smell from there was mouthwatering”!! A thirty minute drive north, the Scottish port of Eyemouth has a tiny entrance from the North Sea, but fresh fish and crustacea landed there were also purchased- and terribly good they were too!!

Hot smoked mackerel and Kipper pate
Fish Smoking House at work
Eyemouth, narrow but protected port entrance, wonderful fish and neat local museum
Dunstanburgh Castle built from 1313 onwards from the distance
And as close as we oculd get

Our Craster visit also gave us an opportunity for a side walk north along the English Coastal Path, up the coast about 2km to check out the stunning Dunstanburgh Castle- see above pics,. We arrived too late to get inside, but even on a grey day it was very impressive.

St Abbs Head Lighthouse – built in 1862 – now automated – and Foghorn ( decommissioned in 1987)
Looking south down the coast
Memorial- 14 Oct 1881 – “hurricane winds on this part of the Berwickshire coast – 129 fishermen lost at sea
St Abbs harbour – pretty as a picture – substantial harbour walls to keep the North Sea gales at bay

Walks in the countryside are always a favourite pastime for us. With a very sunny Sunday morning, we headed for a walk around St Abbs a pretty fishing village on the North Sea coast just north of the border. The coastline here is simply stunning and our walk was a loop of about 8km via the lighthouse, returning us to the village in time for a late lunch of fresh crab and hot smoked mackerel- mmmm!!

River Tweed at Berwick – train line viaduct with electric gantry’s shining in the afternnon light
The flag of Northumberland
MaryGate August 2024
LS Lowrys Impression of Berwick ‘s MaryGate 1935
LS Lowry Seaside Impression
LS Lowry traditional; industrial scene
A regular visitor to Berwick, LS Lowry would do drawings and give them to the Castle Hotel staff. This one was treasured by the staff member and many decades sold at auction for a handsome reward.

Sadly the next day was cloudy and a bit damp, so we headed for the nearby town of Berwick on Tweed. The Tweed river acts as part of the English/Scottish border and Berwick on Tweed at the mouth of the river has a rich military history, whilst also acting as a transport focal point for both road and rail. Our visit coincided with an exhibition of the artist LS Lowry paintings at a local gallery, and a visit there was a must. Whilst Lowry is known mainly for his “Lancashire industrial scenes”, but he also had a strong association with Berwick and painted many scenes there including a number of seascapes. Berwick on Tweed has a “Lowry Trail” that showcases his paintings, their locations and takes in the magnificent military establishment that is the town.

Can’t beat a good cannon for a profile picture
Ramparts and estuary
Ramparts ahead a tunnel for todays road where horses hooves would have rung on the cobbles
Back left is the “Lion House” that Lowry considered purchasing, until he found dry rot. But front right is the Berwick Arsenal – designed to send any accidental explosion upwards not outwards – a theory clearly never tested on this location
Barracks looking a bit like a gaol.
Dewars Lane Granary Railway line – all that is left

Originally initiated by Elizabeth 1st between 1558 & 1570, the “ramparts” she had built were laid around and upon the 13th century town walls and the “ramparts” we can see today are truly massive. Its hard to imagine the effort in the 16th century to create them – cheap labour, cheap local stone!! We walked all around the ramparts of the town, fantastic history on view.

AirBNB anyone?
Intrigued by the serpent seats
Georgian elegance inside the ramparts
Georgian elegance overlooking a green.

Berwick on Tweed also has three very imposing bridges that cross the river and the railway viaduct in particular sits high above the river overlooking the town.There are so many neat parts to Berwick, even some quirky stuff – the Airbnb Victorian converted Toilet, the “serpent benches”, and the Georgian buildings elegance- plus all the military garrison history. We think that Berwick on Tweed is a bit of a gem, fantastic history and the ice creams at the end of our day were magnificent. NB Great parking, toilets and ice creams of St MaryGate by the railway station and under the rampart walls.

Jedburgh Abbey
Beech Tree Woodland
Scottish architecture – 19th century and lovely
Abbey side view
Jedburgh Town Hall
Jedwater river
A Flowery Town Square

Its coming to the end of our time in the Scottish Borders and for our last day we visited the town of Jedburgh. Thankfully a lovely sunny day for a walk around the town, along the Jedwater river, through some woodlands and lunch overlooking its splendid 12th century Abbey. The Tourist Office was right by the main car park and the whole town was bright, flowers in abundance, all gardens looking stunning and overall very inviting.

Thank you the Scottish Borders and Northumberland, we loved every second of our stay, even if at times we had to listen very hard to work out what was being said by either a strong Northumbrian or Scottish accent- way aye, laddie!!