The River Tweed is a 97-mile (156 km) river in the UK, primarily flowing through the heart of the Scottish Borders passing through towns including Peebles, Galashiels, Melrose, Kelso, and Coldstream before forming part of the England-Scotland border, entering the North Sea at Berwick-upon-Tweed.
Famed for having one of the best salmon rod fisheries in Britain. It is the second longest river in Scotland and the sixth longest in mainland Britain.
The river and its tributaries are designated as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), known for being one of the least polluted rivers in the UK.
Where the River Leader joins the River Tweed, there has been a crossing point since the earliest times. The Romans built a timber bridge here to carry Dere Street on its route to the north. The river was crossed again in 1780 when the beautiful Drygrange Old Bridge was built replacing a ferry crossing. At its narrowest the Drygrange Old Bridge is only 16 feet wide yet it carried all the traffic on the A68 until the new steel box grider bridge was opened slightly downstream in 1973. The handsome viaduct upriver from the road bridge was opened in 1863 to carry the Berwickshire Railway from Newtown St Boswells via Earlston and Duns to join the East Coast main line at Reston.The viaduct was badly damaged by the rising river in floods in 1948 and was subsequently closed and left to deteriorate.
In 1981, the poor condition of the viaduct meant that it was due to be demolished but campaigning and funding spared the spandrels, and the bridge lived to tell the tale!
The viaduct stands 126 feet (38 m) from the floor of the river valley. The 19 arches, each 43 feet (13 m) span, are of brickwork, and the abutments, piers and walls are of rustic-faced red sandstone. Some later strengthening of the abutments and piers with old rails and buttresses on the southern valley side is very obvious. It is straight over its whole course, and runs in a broadly northerly direction.
The viaduct is in good condition, having been renovated between 1992 and 1995.
It is near to the Roman settlement of Trimontium, which is to the south-west of the viaduct.
It was upgraded from Category B to A listing in 1986. Historic Scotland took over control of the viaduct from British Rail in 1996.
To claim this vitual cache
The coordinates will take you to the Drygrange Old Bridge with a nice view of the Leaderfoot Viaduct and a view of the "new " A68 bridge.
1. To log this virtual cache please take a selfie including either the Leaderfoot Viaduct, the Drygrane Old Bridge or all three bridges in your photo and attach it to your log. If you don't want to do a selfie please include your caching name within your photo.
2. Optional - It is always interesting to know where people are visiting from and would be nice if you included this in your log.
If your log does not include a photo, it will be deleted.
Virtual Rewards 5.0 - 2026-2027
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between February 3, 2026 and February 3, 2027. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 5.0 on the Geocaching Blog.