Leaderfoot Viaduct

Constructed in 1865 by Charles Jopp, Wylie and Peddie, the Leaderfoot Viaduct was built as a single track rail bridge for the Berwickshire Railway. It's a striking landmark of Victorian engineering in the Borders and was described by Queen Victoria as "immense"!

These nineteen russet arches span the Tweed at Melrose.

Walking towards the bridge along the river you feel its huge presence in the landscape, but it sits snug, hugging the water and the banks of the Tweed. It's splendidly tall with huge salmon sandstone abutments, piers and walls and tightly knit semicircular brick arches. It crosses the Tweed with all nineteen of its arches each individually just over 13 meters wide, with the entire height of each arch from the river valley to the soffit rising a lofty 38 meters. It's a big bridge! When I looked up to photograph it, a drop of water hit me bang between the eyes and the smack was considerable, with the drip intensifying as it hit my head, hard as a marble!

The viaduct was named after the Leader Water, a tributary spilling into the Tweed that flows south from the soft Lammermuir Hills, hugging up the Tweed at Leaderfoot in Lauderdale. A constant family joke for the past decade has been to mumble something when travelling through Lauder and then when the rest of the family ask “Whaaaaaat?” the joke owner has to say in a Borders accent “Ahhh, you want me to be Lauder?” It's a competitive mam and dad joke complete with kid groans!

The bridge has been known as the Drygrange Viaduct too and in centuries past, a significant ford crossed the Tweed near its junction with Leaderwater. The Roman fort of Trimontium would have been built by the river for a reason, and the remains lie to the west of the viaduct.

If you look at its southern end, the abutments and piers have been strengthened with a bullhead rail and buttresses. Just six months after the bridge's grand opening, a gang of 40 men set to work on strengthening the bridge as the heavy leaden trains crossing the viaduct had caused some of the stonework to splinter.

Thomas the Rhymer prophesied in the 13th century “At Eildon Tree, if yon shall be, a brig ower Tweed yon there may see”. Spooky that, foreseeing in the 13th Century the need for a means to traverse the Tweed and not get wet with water!

The viaduct forms part of a group of three bridges known as Tripontium which translates from French to Scottish as ThreeBridgetium! The two smaller bridges stand downstream and are more compact in their stature. They are the Drygrange Old Bridge, more decorative and fancy pants, and the newer, steel box girder bridge built by Sir Alex Gibb between 1971-1973. You can make up your own mind which you like the best. They all have their merits.

The viaduct was badly damaged by the rising river in floods in 1948 and was subsequently closed and left to deteriorate. In 1981 it was considered that the most prudent move was to demolish the bridge, but campaigning and funding spared the spandrels, and the bridge lived to tell the tale! How many Scottish salmon will have cleared its cutwaters I wonder?

It's a significant sight that many will assimilate with the vista of the Borders and beyond. I have happy memories of driving to the Highlands and stopping off here for a little people's leg stretch and feeding our kids picnic lunches on the set of stepping stone seats overlooking the three bridges reflecting the bridge's bows.

In a flurry of Quavers, grapes and cheese sandwich triangles I'd failed to ever notice that the seats, sculpted by stonemason Garry Fay, have a poem inscribed into the front face. There's always more to see!

The ballad of Leaderfoot is by Canadian poet Valerie Gillies who grew up in Southern Scotland and the stanzas spill over the five stepping stone seats outlining the bridge's position in time, history and geography.

STONE 1
the river runs from west to east roads south to north from bank to bank three bridges span three centuries worth

STONE 2
before these the Fly-boat brae led down to its ferry near the ghost-line of the Roman way on the outward journey

STONE 3
salmon sandstone pillars rise above Leaderfoot the meeting of two singing streams by leafy Ravenswood

STONE 4
builders pay attention to the piers so the arch can spring taking you far from what you see to what you're not yet seeing

STONE 5
for when the Tweed is running high from wintry moor and moss Old Drygrange Bridge is standing here to carry you across

The viaduct itself holds an affinity for the famous. In 2024 Richard E Grant was spotted filming for a new HBO series called The Franchise, whilst back in June 2021, Harrison Ford hung out with co-star Toby Jones for some time whilst filming for Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny. Scenes from the film were filmed at the viaduct, however, they were supposed to replicate a location in Switzerland!

Images below: Neil Renton/Border Telegraph Camera Club

None of yer fame and fortune when we were there though thankfully. We were kept company by a solitary osprey, circling on the thermals, waiting for its moment to say its goodbyes before steering over the seas back to Senegal.

The Leaderfoot Viaduct is a lovely place to stop for a break in your journey, to soak up the wildlife or just to watch the sun set and with so much else to adventure to if you have the time.

Thanks to lovely Douglas from DL's Captured Moments for this dreamy sunset picture at The Leaderfoot Viaduct.