Are you looking for an unusual treat that appeals to all the family this summer?  One that will calm your soul, teach you something new and fill your lungs with fresh air?  Then book a boat trip on the river Tweed from Paxton House.

A bit of boat history

You start off at our boathouse down by the stately river Tweed where a line of traditional clinker-built cobles are laid out to dry in the sun. Cobles are the boats that plied the Tweed for centuries carrying people across the deep water of the river, helping fisherman haul in nets full of salmon, part of the industry which was the life-blood of the area for centuries, and carrying the ghillies who guided Victorian sport fishermen to a sure catch. The coble is an ancient design, inspired by the high prow and flat keel of Viking longboats and first mentioned in the eighth century Lindisfarne Gospels. They are still used here by the Tweed Commission to monitor fish stocks each summer.

What will you see?

The boat you alight on when you book a Paxton boat trip will be a more modern and much more comfortable 5.3 meter rigid boat with an outboard to speed you through the water. You’ll be greeted by one of our team of volunteer skippers, who

combine long experience in handling boats with a depth of local knowledge that is hard to match. They aim to bring you an insight into this special area, pointing out landmarks and likely spots to see some of the river’s plentiful wildlife. The river at Paxton is tidal, which is why boat trips are organised for specific times only – you’ll have to check our What’s On calendar – and we also advertise them on a board at our Gift Shop. There are usually waterbirds to see, mallard, teal and mute swans.  You may catch a glimpse of grey herons, oystercatchers, goosanders and cormorants. Small river birds like dippers and grey wagtail ply the river and, if you are lucky, you might just see a resident otter. We even see grey seals as far up the river as Paxton.

As well as wildlife, here are architectural delights too. Looking up at palladian Paxton House from the river gives you a different perspective and other impressive Georgian houses line the river. One of the pleasures of the trip is to float underneath the impressive structure of the Union Chain Bridge, Britain’s first chain suspension bridge.  Originally opened in 1820, this beautiful structure was restored and reopened in 2023 and is linked to Paxton House by paintings of the bridge and its designer which hang in the Entrance Hall.

Book your boat trip today

For a family celebration or just a fun day out, joining a Paxton House boat trip will give you a day to remember and really boost your wellbeing.  After all, in the immortal words of Ratty in Kenneth Grahame’s Wind in the Willows, “There is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.”