A lad fishing is the prompt image from Sepia Saturday this week. Below the only matching image I have.
A lone fisherman on the River Clyde at Largs on the west coast of Scotland. In the background the ferry linking the town of Largs to the Isle of Cumbrae.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxrQjva9a3TTnZwNF0EwO1SbcgTWTPfWs2hEgw-Aeii7ZmIm1jf6LiCiDb-DHZP3DekZqaZrb3ZY_Ybbn_8V1hWa0uNEW6-g8EWWgW1QmRBRy58lX4jmNL78b7By9OoDGIM5XBLj4asJFM/s400/Leaderfoot+Refletions%252C+WRI.jpg)
![Coldstream Bridge02 2000-01-03.jpg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c2/Coldstream_Bridge02_2000-01-03.jpg/240px-Coldstream_Bridge02_2000-01-03.jpg)
Coldstream
Bridge Tollhouse at the north end of the bridge, was more than just the
location for collecting taxes. For it was akin to Gretna Green towards
the west as the location for a Scottish "Irregular
Marriage". This was in
the form of a verbal declaration by the couple
giving their consent before
witnesses and did not require a clergyman, but anyone who took on the role for
a fee. No notice, such as banns, was required, no parental consent and no residency requirement. Such marriages were valid in Scotland but
were increasingly frowned upon and became less
and less acceptable.
In
the meantime, however, many English couples in particular, eloped
to places just across the Border, to
escape the stricter English marriage laws and obtain a quick, easy and cheaper
marriage.
It was on the bridge that Scottish bard Robert Burns (1759-1796) had his
first glimpse of England, as marked by a plaque.
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ea/Robert_Burns_plaque_on_Coldstream_Bridge.jpg/800px-Robert_Burns_plaque_on_Coldstream_Bridge.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfGqEuujOZx_Psls-u5iVZDb6dkR8trkkmrbgtXdvhi12J33MrWuFSwNu6tDetsf-eotGOv47z7X22FatP7qGQ7HsREmDuBX_KJYuWypuhWluJQPAyO5xtigzsA_IIqTnhexYfNKq6tGo0/w400-h300/Rennie+Bridge+4.jpg)
The Rennie Bridge over the River Tweed at Kelso was built in 1803 to replace one washed away in floods of 1797. Designed by John Rennie, it was an earlier and smaller scale version of his Waterloo Bridge in London.
The Toll House, where the payment had to be made, was the scene of a riot in 1854, when local people objected to continuing to pay the tolls when the building costs had been long cleared. It still took three years for tolls to be withdrawn.
For nearly 200 years, this narrow bridge remained the only
way across the Tweed at Kelso, causing many a bottleneck, until the building of a new one in
1998 to the east of the town. Progress here is sometimes rather slow!
The Chain Bridge at Melrose beneath the Eildon Hills crosses the famous salmon river of the Tweed. It was opened in 1826 as a footbridge.
Conditions were imposed on its use including the restraint that no more than eight people should be on it at any one time and "no loitering, climbing or intentional swinging" permitted. Contravention of the rules was punishable by a £2 fine (£135 in today's money) - or imprisonment. (Currency Converter)
Since payment had to be made to cross the bridge, a ford downstream for horse drawn vehicles continued to be used by pedestrians for some time, with a box of stilts at each end of the crossing.
The River Tweed at Melrose
I
Crossing the River Tweed is Mertoun Bridge, near St. Boswells built c.1840, replacing an earlier partly wooden construction. It was later replaced in 1886 with the 5 arch sandstone bridge we see today.
Dryburgh Abbey on the wooded banks of the River Tweed was founded in 1150 and is now the final resting place of 19th century writer Sir Walter Scott and First World War Commander, Field Marshall Earl Haig, who lived nearby at Bemersyde.
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The River Teviot at Hawick, one of the Rover Tweed's main tributaries - Hawick was our home for 41 years. | |
Gala Water running through the town of Galashiels - helping to power its tweed mills in the 19th century
SNAP! Over the water one way and t'other including a fellow or four fishing. :))
ReplyDeleteA box of stilts at either side to cross a river?? I can't even imagine! I'd be in the water for sure. My favorites here are the viaduct bridges, which you have featured before -- they are so lovely and thank goodness they are being preserved.
ReplyDeleteGreat summary of bridges, as well as sharing where you've lived near that particular important river.
ReplyDeleteImpressive bridges/viaducts!
ReplyDeleteI love how bridges in Britain are cherished and preserved. They have a quality of solidity that shows they were built to last forever. In regards to salmon fishing, one of my favorite memories of visiting Scotland was a walk around the Pitlochry Fish Ladder on the River Tummel. It was astonishing to see how these great fish persevered to climb up the river. It was my favorite fish story until I encountered bright pink salmon that swam beneath me while kayaking in Alaska.
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