Berwick-upon-Tweed

55.7713888889-2.00638888889Coordinates: 55° 46′ N, 2° 0′ W

Berwick-upon-Tweed [ˈbɛɹɪk] is a town in Northumberland on the east coast of England and the northernmost town in England. It is situated on a peninsula at the mouth of the River Tweed, which forms the border between England and Scotland in this area. Although the town is on the northern (Scottish) side of the river, it is part of England as the border runs around Berwick, forming the only part of England north of the Tweed. However, it also gave its name to the Scottish county of Berwickshire, of which it was the capital in the Middle Ages. Berwick was the administrative seat of the former Borough of Berwick-upon-Tweed. At the 2001 census, the town (including the hamlets of Spittal, Tweedmouth and Ord) had a population of 11,665, and the district 25,949.

The town's name derives from the Anglo-Saxon Bere-wic, meaning "barley farm". The local dialect, "Tweedside", is a mixture of the Lowland Scottish dialect and the Northumberland dialect, but tends much more towards Scottish. In keeping with this, the distance to the Scottish capital, Edinburgh, is slightly less than to Newcastle upon Tyne, the centre of North East England.

Because of its unique location, Berwick held a key strategic position in the wars between England and Scotland for more than 300 years from the mid-11th century, and was the scene of a number of pivotal events in the Anglo-Scottish Border Wars. This border location continues to shape the city today. It is also reflected in the architecture of the city, especially in the excellently preserved fortifications from Elizabethan times.

Economy

Berwick is a market town and, counting Tweedmouth on the south bank of the Tweed, a seaport (albeit a very modest one). 59.5% of the population is in employment, the unemployment rate is 3.6% and 19% are pensioners. Just over 60% of the workforce is employed in the service sector (commerce, hotels and restaurants, banking, public administration and health), about 13% work in manufacturing, 10% in agriculture and 8% in construction. The main industries include salmon fishing, shipbuilding, engineering, sawmills, fertiliser production and the manufacture of tweed and tricot.

Sports

Berwick is the only English town whose football team, Berwick Rangers, and rugby team play in their respective Scottish leagues. The Berwick Bandits speedway team competes in the British Premier League (2nd division).