Royal Border Bridge

The Royal Border Bridge is a stone railway viaduct that carries the East Coast Main Line over the River Tweed between Berwick-upon-Tweed and Tweedmouth in Northumberland. It was designed by Robert Stephenson and built between 1847 and 1850. The bridge has 28 arches, each spanning 18 metres, and stands 37 metres above the river. It was opened by Queen Victoria in 1850 and remains in regular use today. The bridge was constructed for the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway to complete a continuous line between London and Edinburgh. George Hudson, a railway financier, played a key role in its development. The bridge consumed 227,000 cubic metres of stone and 2.5 million bricks during construction. At its peak, over 2,700 workers were involved in building the structure. Visitors can see the bridge from the riverbanks or nearby paths. The arches curve gently over the landscape, with 15 on land and 13 over the river. The piers were shaped to break up ice flowing downstream. The bridge’s stonework and brick soffits remain well preserved after repairs in the 1990s.