The Upper Tweed Valley
500 years ago this area was covered in forest and heath. The drove road (Crook Inn road) passed through till the early 20 th cent. Remnants can still be seen. The diverse selection of trees (alder, ash, willow, scots pine and oak) gave good hunting for grouse, pheasant, hare, boars and wolves. The canopy gave cover and so it was an area of lawlessness. It was deforested in an attempt to curb this and the area was turned over to sheep. Sheep grazing increased until theforests were destroyed. But the living was hard. The flocks were taken to high ground in the summer and down to the valleys in the autumn. Digging the sheep from the snow in winter and 24hr attendance at lambing meant that the sons were unwilling to follow their fathers into farming and at the same time the forestry commission was offering a good price for the land. But the new forest is now predominantly conifer. This, though economic for building or papermaking, is not good for the land itself, as the rainwater is not absorbed well, causing the river to flood frequently.
The heath land is used for shooting grouse and pheasant. It does give a different landscape as you need a variety of woods, hedges, ponds and lots of nooks and crannies to emulate the birds’ natural habitat and, of course, there must be no crop spraying in the field next door! If there was no shooting, then the land would be forest or turned over to sheep. There are many fishing beats on the river though not everyone pays!
Above is a lovely garden in the centre of Broughton. Not advertized, and marked only by an unobtrusive sign, it is a deligtful and unexpected gem.