What’s your favourite railway journey? Mine is the journey from London to Edinburgh, and my favourite moment on that journey is when you cross the Royal Border Bridge, which straddles the historic frontier between England and Scotland. As the train glides across this graceful viaduct, high above the River Tweed, you look down upon my favourite seaside town.
Despite its stunning maritime location, where the Tweed meets the North Sea, Berwick-upon-Tweed is hardly a typical seaside holiday destination. The town has been knocked about a bit, the high street has seen better days, the weather is unforgiving and there are none of the Kiss-Me-Quick amusements you find in Blackpool or Skegness. So what’s the big appeal?
For me, it’s the pleasure of being somewhere where everywhere is walkable, so close to coast and countryside, in a place where the past feels so close at hand. You can walk along miles of sandy beaches, or inland along the Tweed, or around the Elizabethan walls which still embrace the town in an unbroken ring of stone.
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