Castles, bridges and other aspects of the Scottish Borders

I've ridden across the Mackinac bridge several times. 5 miles long. It's kind of fun but unnerving. 4 lanes, 2 outside paved and the 2 inside steel grating. At speed the grating disappears. If I look down through it it gives me a bit of vertigo. Plus there is usually a bit of wind. Last time I crossed it I had my girlfriend on the back. When we got across it I asked how she liked it. Said after the first 1/2 mile she just closed her eyes and hung on. She has no sense of adventure.
 
Gentlemen, I would respectfully remind you this thread about the Scottish Borders not bridges. Ahem. I'm already aware that the USA has far more spectacular bridges that we have around here, please forgive me for being parochial and showing you local places of maybe very little interest. No offence . . .

But if you think that steel mesh grid is scary, then what about the Vitim bridge in Siberia? Dodgy wooden planks with gaps, longitudinal planks and even a jump half-way. No, I haven't crossed it, but famous among RTW types.


Next time, I'll get back to Scottish Borders.
 
Allowed to cross the Border again, decided to go to Berwick-on-Tweed. The Orange Diva is garage-bound waiting for me to sort the speedo and complete the 1,500-mile service items so the W800 had it's longest outing so far this year.

Berwick town centre far too busy, traffic at a standstill, didn't hang around and instead went down next to the river to take this picture of the Royal Border Bridge, opened in 1850 by Queen Victoria, which carries the East Coast main railway line over the Tweed.

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But despite the name, the bridge does not cross the Border - for much of it's course, the river Tweed forms the border but at Berwick both banks are in Northumberland. Which is England for those who don't know.

Standing at almost the same spot, but facing downstream toward the North Sea, the medieval and more modern road bridges and the ancient walls of Berwick.

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I'm sure you have bigger bridges in the US of A but some of you might be interested in a bit of history or geography?

BTW, Berwick-on-Tweed, or so we are told, changed hands between the kings of Scotland and England thirteen times. Which might be a record for any place to have swapped its nationhood.
 
Raymond said:
Allowed to cross the Border again, decided to go to Berwick-on-Tweed. The Orange Diva is garage-bound waiting for me to sort the speedo and complete the 1,500-mile service items so the W800 had it's longest outing so far this year.

Berwick town centre far too busy, traffic at a standstill, didn't hang around and instead went down next to the river to take this picture of the Royal Border Bridge, opened in 1850 by Queen Victoria, which carries the East Coast main railway line over the Tweed.

View attachment 192358

But despite the name, the bridge does not cross the Border - for much of it's course, the river Tweed forms the border but at Berwick both banks are in Northumberland. Which is England for those who don't know.

Standing at almost the same spot, but facing downstream toward the North Sea, the medieval and more modern road bridges and the ancient walls of Berwick.

View attachment 192359

I'm sure you have bigger bridges in the US of A but some of you might be interested in a bit of history or geography?

BTW, Berwick-on-Tweed, or so we are told, changed hands between the kings of Scotland and England thirteen times. Which might be a record for any place to have swapped its nationhood.
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Amazing how such tall graceful and enduring structures can be made from nothing but small chunks of rock. Thanks for sharing your rides!
 
Raymond said:
I'm sure you have bigger bridges in the US of A but some of you might be interested in a bit of history or geography?
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Yes! Very much. Your part of the world is so much older and steeped in history. It amazes me that so many medieval structures are still standing so perfectly and beautifully, when what passes for history in our country is often just sites where something used to be, or remnant piles of rubble. We have a tendency here to knock down the old and replace with shiny and new. In fact there have been a number of books documenting all of the old grand buildings in our major cities that were demolished in the name of progress. Thanks again Raymond , good stuff as always, and your Kawasaki looks perfect for exploring your countryside! :)
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Beautiful old structures - and it is amazing how well constructed and enduring they are given the age in which they were built.

As for the number of changes of nationhood, I suspect you are correct Raymond, but there are likely some places in the Balkans which might rival Berwick.

Ride safely everyone and stay healthy!

Pete
 
Back at Scott's View:

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The iconic, well for us in the Scottish Borders they are, Eildon Hills. Scott's View is high above the bank of the River Tweed as it performs a near loop near Old Melrose. So here's looking down the slope:

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The river is almost hidden among the trees, might spot it over on the left, but I thought the verdant scenery might be of interest to those who live in desert states.
 
Raymond said:
I thought the verdant scenery might be of interest to those who live in desert states.
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You've got that right! Beautiful countryside Raymond, and it looks like a lovely day for ride. :) We are in the grips of a very severe summer here, so your scenery is much appreciated! :thumbsup: I’ll repay you over the winter. ;)
 
Have not been to St Mary's Loch since before the pandemic. It's not a huge loch, about 2½ by ½ mile, but it's the largest natural body of fresh water in the Scottish Borders. And it's a nice run through lovely rounded hills so today being dry decided it was time to go there again:

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Parked outside the Glen Café, there were a few bikes and a couple of riders made complimentary remarks about Miss November. The guy looking at the six-fifty in this picture loved the classic old Yamaha:

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Told me he owns 'an eleven foot long Big Dog chopper, fitted with 100" S&S motor'

I asked him where the bike is today. 'Oh, it's a bit of a garage Queen. Today's trip in the car is to check out the route here, see if it's suitable for the chopper.'

Quite.
 
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Beautiful! I want to go ride with you.

We had a guy ride a Big Dog chopper at a 650 rally in North Georgia (in the mountains) many years ago. His garage queen was a perfect XS-2. He rode that hardtail chopper all day, but it sure did beat him up!
 
Thanks for asking, Rusty. Those are dry-stone sheep pens. Find them all over the hills in the upland parts of the Borders. I think in the old days they were used to gather the sheep for lambing. Now, they usually put the sheep in sheds back at farm for lambing.

Most farm walls, such as farm boundaries or walls around fields, are dry stone and there's some in the picture. Stones are sheep are two things we've got plenty of in this part of the world.
 
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