A river runs through it

Most of us have a river running through our lives. It may be the Thames, the Mersey, the Clyde, or the Wye. With around 1,500 rivers in the UK, most of us can identify with one. For me, it's the River Tweed. The Tweed rises near Moffat in the central Borders, and 95 miles later it flows into the North Sea at Berwick upon Tweed in Northumberland, England.

-  WILLIE DAVIDSON

I've ridden alongside the Tweed many times over the years and was pretty sure I could plot a route that followed the Tweed Valley so it would never be more than half a mile from the river and within sight of it most of the time.

It's also a glorious ride along the entirety of the 95 miles, with no bad sections at all!

The Tweed rises about seven miles north of Moffat near the Devil's Beef Tub. There are signs indicating the source of the Tweed, which is at a lay-by next to the A701. There are several information boards and an artwork commemorating the river. What I couldn't find was the Tweed itself. I had expected a wee burn or something, but despite looking, I couldn't find it. However, I needn't have worried as no sooner was I back on the bike heading north than I saw, on my right, the burn that would become a river.

Heading for Peebles, you cross the Tweed several times and can see the river for most of the way. It's a very pleasant ride as the road winds between the hills and woods. Most of the non-forestry land is used for traditional hill farming, with hedges and dry-stone dykes creating the little fields. Peebles is the first of several pretty border towns you go through on the trip. At the lights, just before you enter the town, look right, and through the trees, you'll see Neidpath Castle, which is a traditional Borders Keep or Peel Tower. These are fortified homes, and you see them on both sides of the border. They were designed to keep out the English/Scottish (delete as appropriate) and protect you from your neighbours who, likely as not, would be Border Reivers (bandits).