The River Tweed is 97 miles long and is the fourth longest river in Scotland. It starts at Tweed’s Well and flows through the hart of the Scottish Borders past towns like Peebles and Kelso before finishing at Berwick where it flows into the sea. The Tweed is not just one large river but a network of burns joining together to form small rivers, which join together and eventually flow into the Tweed before it reaches the sea at Berwick. As a result the Tweed gets larger as it flows downstream. Tributary rivers such as the Ettrick, Gala, Leader, Teviot, Till & Whiteadder all flow into the Tweed. Each of these has numerous small and large burns flowing into them.

The River Tweed is a spate river. This means that its river heights are as a result of rainfall. When the weather has been dry for some time the river can be very low, while during and after heavy rainfall the river can be very high and dangerous. It should be noted that even when the river is low there are areas of deep water and fast moving water that can be very dangerous.

Fishing in the River Tweed and its Tributary Rivers

To find out where you can fish in the Tweed or its tributaries visit the where to go fishing section of the Junior page

What Lives in the River Tweed

Although the height of the river can change with rainfall, or lack of rainfall, there is always water in the river making it a wonderful place for things to live. Living in the Tweed is:-

Algae: This is a type of underwater plant. Each plant is very small and “Clumps” of algae are made up of many, many tiny plants stuck together. Plants are the basis of all life in the river and without them there would be no animals.


 

Minibeasts: Minibeasts, or invertebrates as they’re more accurately known, are the small creatures that feed on the plants, such as algae, that live in the river. Although some of the bigger minibeasts feed on other minibeasts. They are millions of them under stones, in mud and on plants at the bottom of the river. Common minibeasts include mayflies, Stoneflies and Caddisflies. Some minibeasts can only survive in very clean, pollution free water. And the more plants there are to eat the more minibeasts there will be.

Fish: Fish are probably the most well known inhabitants of rivers. Most fish eat minibeasts, although some eat smaller fish. Many fish, such as Salmon, Trout and Grayling which live in the river Tweed, require very clean, pollution free water, lots of food (minibeasts) and a place to hide from predators to survive.
 

Fish Predators: Many of the top predators in the River Tweed live above the water and dive in into the river to catch fish. Examples include Kingfishers, Herons and Otters.

Other animals: Many other animals that live above the water rely on rivers. Dippers, for example, are small birds that dive under water to collect river minibeasts, while ducks like Mallards eat many of the different things that can be found in rivers.
The animals that have the biggest impact on fish are, of course, humans, and even though we eat very few river fish these days we can still pollute and block rivers, damage riverbanks, drain streams and much, much more.