Steam across the Royal Border Bridge

As the clock ticked round to late afternoon I made my way back to the Royal Border Bridge and found a broken tree trunk on the shore to await the arrival of A4 class steam locomotive 60007 ‘Sir Nigel Gresley’ with the Great Britain IV railtour. I still had an hour or two so it was a good opportunity to sit back, relax and let the world pass by – something I seldom do!

The tide was going out quite quickly so the foreground for my shot had changed quite considerably by the time the steam locomotive appeared on the horizon. It was one of those occasions where everything came together perfectly – even the sun appeared from behind the clouds at just the right moment to light up the A4. I’ve always had a soft spot for the A4s and 60007 looked resplendent in BR express blue livery crossing the river.

A4 class steam locomotive 60007 'Sir Nigel Gresley' crosses the Royal Border Bridge on 16th April 2011

A4 class steam locomotive 60007 'Sir Nigel Gresley' crosses the Royal Border Bridge with the other two bridges in the background

After the A4 had passed I headed back to the station and realised that the park next to the castle had been packed out with photographers and onlookers which had been hidden from my view on the shoreline. I caught the 18:45 East Coast service on to Edinburgh, passing the A4 in Berwick Goods Loop where she was taking on water. I would have one more chance to see her later in the evening on her arrival at Edinburgh Waverley.

Berwick-upon-Tweed

I arrived in Berwick-upon-Tweed at 12.26pm and spent a fascinating afternoon exploring the town, wandering around the ramparts and taking a walk out to the lighthouse. The information boards around the town really help to complete the picture – providing a basic understanding of how the defences fit together and illuminating the unexpected connection between Lowry and Berwick-upon-Tweed.

It was a pity that the museum at the barracks is closed at the weekends as it would have been a good way to spend part of the day – it seemed I was as surprised by this as the other tourists turning up at the locked gates. Nevertheless, I had a great afternoon out in truly superb weather.

A sweeping view from the ramparts taking in the town and the Lion House

The River Tweed

An East Coast service crosses the Royal Border Bridge

A view across the Tweed towards Spittal

The ramparts at Berwick-upon-Tweed

66417 passes the remains of Berwick Castle whilst working 4S49 Daventry-Grangemouth