Monday September 7th 2026
Wild Swimming As Part Of Tweed River Festival 2025 (photo By Ian Georgeson)
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Paul Kelly
Nature and culture are to inter-connect in the Scottish Borders next month with the second edition of the Tweed River Festival.
Conceived as a gathering of river-loving communities, and taking place across multiple indoor and outdoor sites in Melrose, the two-day event will feature an array of creative activities in, on and alongside the River Tweed.
Last year’s inaugural edition of the Tweed River Festival took place in Peebles, in the Upper Tweed.
This year, on October 30 and 31, the programme includes guided walks, film screenings, creative workshops, performances and a local assembly.
Visitors can expect an inspiring mix of river-focused activities, including drop-in creative workshops such as screen-printing with local artist Zoe Atherfold, and evening film screenings.
The festival programme nurtures collaboration between the climate, environmental, and cultural sectors – highlighting intersectional questions around mental and physical health, and access to rivers and outdoor space.
Friday’s programme will centre around a Springboard local assembly, run in partnership with Culture for Climate Scotland.
Facilitated by creatives including artist Eve Mosher, the assembly will be an opportunity for practising collaboration across cultural, climate, environmental and health sectors.
The 2026 festival will explore links between culture, health, climate and environment under the theme of “Under, over, round and through”.
Other programme highlights include an audio-visual performance and foraging walk from artists Jamie Wardrop and Sita Pieraccini; a riverside ‘Water Walk’ in collaboration with North Wales-based partner organisation Gofod Glas; and a festival parade.
River Culture Curator Tiki Muir says: “Having held our inaugural Tweed River Festival in Peebles, we’re so excited to be moving the festival downriver to the Middle Tweed this year.
“The iconic, beautiful setting of Melrose is rich with history and heritage. One of our artists in residence, Savinder Bual, is currently deeply immersed in the history of Melrose Abbey and its 16th century silent order of monks.
“The Tweed River Festival is a vital chance to gather as active participants in mutual relationship with the river: to share knowledge, stories, and perspectives on sustaining caring, resilient and river-loving communities.”
Full programme information will go live on tweedriverculture.org on Tuesday 22 September.
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