The Tweed Valley Canoe Trail: A three-day canoe trip into Scotland's sublime borderlands

The first official canoe trail in the south of Scotland just launched, covering a 30-mile stretch of the majestic River Tweed. The River Tweed doesn't just run through the Scottish Borders region. In its lower reaches, the river itself forms the border – the Anglo-Scottish divide tracing the twists and turns of the Tweed for 17 miles. 

This has loosely been the case since the Battle of Carham in 1018, where Malcolm II of Scotland defeated Uhtred , the English ruler of Bamburgh. It has legally been the case since the 1237 Treaty of York, agreed between Henry III of England and Alexander II of Scotland. Battles have been won and lost in that time, but the border has not budged much since.

 It's the first official canoe route to open in the south of Scotland, waymarked and mapped, and it travels through a landscape shaped by – and which has shaped – Scottish history. The journey is best enjoyed between April and September, avoiding the peak salmon fishing season in October and November.

This route runs purely through Scottish waters, roughly 60 miles west of where the river becomes a shared waterway. There are wooden way markers, anchor points and informative signage dotted along the route at each suggested stop. Plan your trip here.