The Union Chain Bridge to Berwick walk is one of our longer ones, so we all arrived early, keen to make it back to the Chain Bridge Honey Farm tea room before it closed at 5pm.
The Union Bridge
This was the start of the walk, and what a great place to start. It is a very historical bridge. Designed by Captain Samuel Brown RN, it was once the longest and first bridge of its type to carry traffic in the UK.
Paxton House
The North side of the bridge is Scotland. From the bridge, we headed along the North bank of the river, still in Scotland, towards Paxton House. The route here is along a lovely river bank and the new duckboard really helps. At Paxton House we entered the grounds, which changes the scenery to woodland.
The river bank here is very well kept. It’s lovely to walk on and very pretty. There are many fishing cottages here, that were used for net fishing. Several of these are holiday cottages now.
Crossing back into England
After Paxton House, we crossed the border back into England. The river bank is predominately farmland here, with some sheep pasture and some arable. In parts this was a lot more overgrown than when Martin did the recce. It made it harder going, on a warm day. Spirits were still high though and everyone was enjoying themselves.
As we approached Whiteadder Point, the place where Whiteadder Water flows into the Tweed, we had to take a slight diversion to cross the bridge. This bridge has plainly had some flood damage, although it is still very sturdy. The bridge has a slight lean and a distinct bow to it. Everyone managed it regardless.
Over the footbridge and under the A1 roadbridge and we were on more pastures by the river. This led into the woods, which was very pleasant, as it was one of the first opportunities to get out of the sun.
Unfortunately, the sun wasn’t going to stay out for us, as we arrived into Berwick the heavens opened but we were here and teashops needed to be found.
Half a job Harry’s
This is something that we would never call our customers. However, when several of them decided to get a taxi from Berwick back to the start, they did label themselves as wimps. To be fair, when we reached Berwick, the rain was torrential. So, everyone was soaked to the skin.
Back by taxi foot
Some of the walkers still fancied the walk back, so we set off back. The weather was good and the air was fresh after the downpour. The only disadvantage of the rain was that the undergrowth was soaking wet and, as a result, so were we.
The prospect of the tearoom at the end was unlikely now, but still possible. So, we went as fast as we could with Martin leading. Unfortunately, he arrived just after 5pm and they had just closed.
Thank you all for coming along and we hope to see you again.
Julie and Martin x
If you like Union Chain Bridge to Berwick, why not checkout our other walks.
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