Tweed Dreams in Berwick

It’s been a bit Scottish, a lot English and it still has a bit of a split personality.

But what’s not in doubt is that Berwick’s a fantastic place for a bit of a break.

I’ve always found it both fantastically walkable and a real step back in time. And there’s no better place to start than atop the Scots Gate, having picked up some invaluable guides from the tourist information office just down below in Marygate.

Ancient history and a more recent past that helped put Berwick on the map can both be seen from here.

On one side of the defensive gate a display tells of its construction in the 16th Century that left the secured walled town behind and the unprotected area outwith.

It’s where the Co-op is now, although I’m pretty sure medieval supermarkets weren’t a shopping option!

On the other side is one of the plaques on the town’s Lowry Trail. The famous artist took a real shine to Berwick, visiting many times from the mid-1930s until his death 40 years later. One of his trademark quirky works can be seen here; Marygate and the Georgian town hall are both characteristically different in his distinctive style yet still instantly recognisable.

Head to your left from that point and the Elizabethan Wall Walk will take you round both the fascinating story of Berwick’s imposing defences, and the inspiration for many of Lowry’s works. The grassy embankments are as imposing and impenetrable today as they were when keeping out marauding invaders. But be cautious there’s nothing from stopping you plunging straight off the edge.

It’s a bracing walk the afternoon we set off, with white-capped waves dotting the North Sea ahead. With the coast to your left, you’ll find the town’s barracks on the right. A plaque with a picture of an engraving shows how they are remarkably unchanged over the past couple of centuries. We just had to pop in for a look.

Now run by English Heritage, it’s a bargain £4.50 to view the By Beat Of Drum exhibition, the Kings Own Scottish Borderers museum and much more. Back on the trail, further Lowry plaques show the spot where he captured a game of his beloved football and, nearby, a substantial home he thought of buying. He was put off by the state of decay but it’s happily restored to its former glory.

Finally, you reach the river where a six-gun defensive battery was designed to catch invading ships as they turned side-on into the River Tweed. Nowadays it’s just a great spot on what was a fine day to catch views south to Holy Island.

After a relaxing night we take a bit more time to explore Marygate and its centrepiece, the Town Hall. It really is well worth checking out inside as well as out, and is open for tours from Easter to the end of September. However, visits outside of those times can be made by arrangement and Town Hall keeper Michael Herriot was only too happy to oblige.

The most interesting bit, as Michael himself admits, is the old town jail on the top floor. This is no phoney recreation of old prison life. It looks as though the last prisoner has just left.

Michael shares tales of the two very different areas, the debtors prison and the convicts’ side. The debtors may have lost their liberty but with spacious, fully-furnished cells complete with fireplaces and stunning views over the town’s rooftops it couldn’t have been that bad an old lag’s lot. They even had a roof terrace for a bit of exercise.

It was different on the convicts’ side with smaller cells, still windowed though apart from the two tiny ones briefly used by those awaiting the hangman’s noose. When we say it must be a different place after dark Michael admits it is indeed and still wishes one visitor hadn’t told him about the ghost she had seen.

Thankfully, we’ve got a couple more days to explore, taking in galleries, exhibitions and much more.

But for a flying visit, hit the wall and get walking.

See visitnorthumberland.com, visitberwick.com or call Berwick Tourist Information Centre on 01670 622155.