PORTRAIT OF THE TWEED: A CELEBRATION OF THE BORDERS LANDSCAPE. Text and original photography [by] Ian Bavington Jones.

1992 1st edition. Square 4to (253 x 256mm). Pp192. Colour photographs by the author throughout, colour and b/w illustrations, colour maps, bibliography. Blue boards, spine titled in gilt.

A portrait of the Tweed and its surroundings with only occasional mentions of fish and fishing". Portrait of the Tweed traces a year in the life of the river in words and photographs, exploring it through the seasons, depicting the landscape of its valley, and the houses, monuments and towns which stud its course. In doing so, the book invokes the history, poetry and literature of the Borders, from the warrior Scottish kings of the Middle Ages to the lawless reivers and mosstroopers of the 17th century, from legendary Dark Age bards such as Thomas the Rhymer to the enduring presence of the great Sir Walter Scott, whose Border Ballads and Waverley novels made him the most famous writer in Europe of his time. Beginning in early Spring we follow the river from the sea to its source season by season - from wintry February to the spring flowers of April, from the lush greens of high summer to the intense colours of Autumn along the steep hills and woodlands of the upper Tweed, and finally to the bleak moorlands from which Tweed begins. Author and photographer Ian Jones, himself a keen fisherman, has covered every inch of Tweed's 94 miles to bring an unforgettable and deeply felt evocation of Tweed's past and present, to be treasured by sporting visitors, by tourists and everyone with a love of the unique heritage of the British landscape".