Monday December 1st 2025
Destination Tweed Project Director, Luke Fisher (centre) pictured with the story-gathering team from Jo Scott Heritage Engagement (l-r)
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Paul Kelly
Personal tales of the Tweed are needed from Borderers as part of a unique conservation drive.
The Destination Tweed project is inviting residents of the south of Scotland and north Northumberland to share their stories and love of the River Tweed to help entertain, educate and inspire visitors who come to experience the new River Tweed Trail when it is completed in 2028.
Destination Tweed is a unique source-to-sea river revitalisation project that features the creation of a 113-mile River Tweed Trail running from Moffat, near the source of the Tweed, to Berwick Upon Tweed where the river meets the sea.
The project is creating a new community-driven Tweed Stories archive that will be filled with river-related tales, memories and interesting facts about the Tweed and its surroundings, told through the voices of those who know it best.
The stories will be used to inspire interpretation materials along the River Tweed Trail route to connect visitors deeply with the story of the river and its communities.
It is part of a broader tourism and river restoration project that is balancing visitor access with sustainability and care for the environment.
This part of Destination Tweed’s Tweed Stories initiative is being managed by Jo Scott Heritage Engagement, whose team will be inviting local people, groups and organisations to share their River Tweed stories over the next 12 months through a series of exciting events and workshops.
They are looking to gather information and experiences about everything from favourite viewpoints, hidden gems and well-loved walks to folklore, songs and poems, wildlife, skills and traditions as well as tales of special people past and present. In addition to collecting stories in-person, the team has opened an online archive on the Destination Tweed website here where people can directly upload stories that they think might be of interest.
Sophie Gartshore, Destination Tweed Communications and Digital Content manager, said: “The new Tweed Stories online community archive will be a celebration of the river’s rich heritage, nature and people. As well as being a fascinating resource for local people, the stories will be used to develop digital content and interpretation materials for users of the River Tweed Trail and help us provide them with a rich, authentic visitor experience.
“We hope that anyone who loves the Tweed and its surroundings and who has a contribution they’d like to share will come forward to help us tell the story of one of the country’s most scenic and culturally rich rivers.”
Destination Tweed is being delivered by Tweed Forum. Other partners involved in the project are Scottish Borders Council, Northumberland County Council, Dumfries and Galloway Council, South of Scotland Enterprise, Sustrans, Southern Uplands Partnership, Buglife, Borders Forest Trust, Tweedsmuir Community Company, SEPA, VisitScotland and NatureScot as well as landowners along the river.
Destination Tweed is supported by over 30 funders. It is one of the projects within the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal, with major funding also coming from South of Scotland Enterprise, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Sustrans, the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, Northumberland County Council, EU LIFE WADER project, the Fallago Environment Fund and a range of Trusts and Foundations.
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